Enrile allies bracing for leadership shakeup in Senate

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s allies are bracing themselves for the possibility that he would not muster enough votes to preserve his hold on the post come 16th Congress.

However, senators from opposing sides have indicated that neither Sen. Franklin Drilon nor Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano are sure they could also secure a head count of 13 senators needed to create a new majority.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago earlier said in a radio interview Sunday that the Senate Presidency in the 16th Congress would be a toss-up between Drilon and Cayetano, currently the Senate minority leader.

She also predicted that Enrile would be “out” as Senate President in the next Congress.

“That’s her opinion,” Sen. Vicente Sotto III said of Santiago’s statement.

“Any Congress always elects a new set of officers.  Anong ‘out’ ang pinagsasabi n’ya? (What ‘out’ is she talking about?)  The Senate is a continuing body. We’ll have a new 16th Congress therefore we will be electing a new Senate President.  Whether it is still JPE or a new one…The detractors of JPE (Enrile’s initials) like the sound of the word ‘replaced’ (but) mali ‘yun (that’s wrong) in parliamentary language,” he said in a solicited text message.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Cayetano’s colleague in the Nacionalista Party (NP), said he would vote for Drilon and not his party mate.

Trillanes and Cayetano are among the nine administration-backed candidates who won fresh six-year terms in the Senate.

Senator-elect JV Ejercito-Estrada, on the other hand, said he would rather go for Cayetano.

Despite assertions made by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III that the “new majority coalition will decide who the new Senate President will be by consensus,” Ejercito-Estrada said there was no guarantee that Drilon had it in the bag, as of Monday.

Drilon has consistently avoided giving categorical answers to questions about the Senate Presidency.

Cayetano’s staff told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday they still had no statement to give about issue of the Senate leadership.

Ejercito-Estrada has reminded Drilon in a televised interview that of the nine Team PNoy candidates who won Senate seats in the last election, only Senator-elect Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV a card-carrying member of the Liberal Party.

The rest, the San Juan congressman asserted, “would still go with the party stand (or) what would be good for (their) party.”

Other senators-elect from the Team PNoy slate who are either known as independents or who belong to other parties include Grace Poe (independent), Loren Legarda (Nationalist People’s Coalition), Francis Escudero (independent), Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino), Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (PDP-Laban) and Cynthia Villar (NP).

Ejercito-Estrada, Nancy Binay and Gregorio Honasan from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) make up the rest of winning 12 Senate candidates.

“I think even if Team PNoy (candidates) won most of the seats, they cannot be sure because Bam Aquino is the only LP (member in the group)… So Frank Drilon cannot be a shoo-in. He should not think that he will be a shoo-in as Senate President,” Ejercito-Estrada said.

The senator-elect made it clear Drilon would not have his vote.

Ejercito-Estrada recalled that as campaign manager of Team PNoy, Drilon “really gave us a hard time in the elections so I would definitely not go for him.”

Ejercito-Estrada also hinted he would rather go for Cayetano should the minority leader make a go for the Senate Presidency.

“Alan has always been a friend even if at times we’re on the opposite sides of the fence.  Our friendship will go beyond politics, we’ll always keep that friendship,” he explained.

Trillanes told Inquirer in a solicited text message that “Senator Drilon would be the ideal candidate for Senate President.  He has the experience, seniority and competence to lead the Senate.”

Trillanes also said NP senators “will be meeting soon to discuss” the Senate leadership.

Enrile’s allies said they have been bracing for the possibility that the senators of the 16th Congress would vote for a new Senate President.

Sotto recalled that Enrile himself announced several times he was ready to be replaced “anytime by anyone who can gather a new majority.”

“The Senate President and I share the same attitude…Kung saan tayo mapadpad (Wherever the currents take us),” he added.

“But I disagree with the use of the word ‘replaced.’ Under the rules, we senators are supposed to vote for a Senate President when a new Congress opens.  We’re just not sure whether it would still be Enrile or someone else,” Sotto said.

Honasan stressed that no single senator could decide a leadership change in the chamber.

“It will be a decision of the majority. It needs 13 senators to decide who will lead the 24.

So, we would need consultations, coffee sessions (“kapihan”) and maybe a little plotting,” he said in jest.

Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, meanwhile, said that “after the 9-3 vote in favor of Team PNoy senatorial candidates, (a leadership change) might be inevitable.”

In a phone interview, Estrada pointed out however, that the so-called “macho bloc” now composed of four including himself, Enrile, Sotto and Honasan could expand to eight in July after the oathtaking of the new crop of senators.

Estrada counted Binay, his brother Ejercito-Estrada, Lakas-CMD president Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and a fourth senator whom he did not identify but described as someone who “would not agree to become an administration ally.”