Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Senate PRIB file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate minority bloc is open to new members until the end of the 19th Congress, bloc leader Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Tuesday.
Currently, only Pimentel and opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros are members of the Senate minority bloc. Twenty senators belong to the majority bloc, while two others — siblings Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano — are independent members of Congress’s upper chamber.
“As minority leaders, this is something new, the arrangement that they are independent. I am happy that there is an independent,” Pimentel said in a press briefing at the Senate.
“Joining the minority is open to all up to the end of this Congress. Welcome!” he added.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros reiterated that the blocs do not hinder their duty to serve the public.
“Gaya ng sinabi ni Sen. Koko dahil sa katangian ng Senado na independenteng institusyon, nasa ugali naming mga senador na we can work with each other across the minority-majority-independent lines,” she said in the same press conference.
(Like what Sen. Pimentel said, because of the characteristic of the Senate as an independent institution, we can work with each other across the minority-majority-independent lines.)
“So hindi hadlang ‘yun sa pakikitrabaho, basta common advocacies,” the lady senator said.
(That is not a hurdle to our work, as long as we have common advocacies.)
The 19th Congress opened on Monday, July 25. Senators have elected their colleagues in the following positions:
Senate President – Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
Senate President Pro Tempore – Senator Loren Legarda
Senate Majority Leader – Senator Joel Villanueva
Senate Minority Leader – Aquilino Pimentel III