Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano: Patay better than Patay Sindi better. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Better to be part of “Team Patay” than “Team Patay Sindi.”
Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano said his wife, Lani, the mayor of Taguig City, has a better reason not to mind his inclusion on the list of Senate candidates dubbed Team Patay by the diocese of Bacolod for voting in favor of the reproductive health (RH) bill.
“As long as I am not part of Team Patay Sindi, it’s okay with Lani,” he said, referring to the street lingo for girlie bars illuminated by cheap blinking neon lights.
The names of Cayetano and several other lawmakers who voted for the recently signed RH law were listed on a tarpaulin in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City when Team PNoy held lightning rallies throughout Negros Occidental last week.
The “hit list” also included the names of anti-RH Senate bets in a separate category called Team Buhay that the diocese endorsed.
The diocese deplored Cayetano et al.’s decision to vote in favor of the RH bill for its supposed bias against life due to provisions requiring the government to distribute artificial means of contraception.
Cayetano and the other candidates initially cried foul over the hit list. Fortunately, Lani takes a different and more optimistic view that the senator injected with a zest of humor.
“Anyway, the concept of ‘patay sindi’ runs counter to my campaign promoting family values,” he said in a casual talk with reporters on Thursday.
Cayetano added that he and Lani had an agreement when they married nine years and several elections ago that they would try their best to be together by nighttime despite political involvements that force them to spend time apart.
The senator’s ongoing campaign for reelection is proving to be a trying time for the couple.
As much as possible, Lani wants him to be home after a grueling day shaking hands on the road.
Cayetano said this is the reason he insists on flying back to Manila at the end of a long day of out-of-town sorties.
On a recent trip to Bicol, Cayetano was nearly forced to borrow a car from one of Lani’s relatives and drive 12 hours from Legazpi City to Taguig after his flight was canceled thrice. Fortunately, the plane trip eventually pushed through.