Sotto: 1 or 2 senators may join new minority

Vicente Sotto III. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—At least one or two more senators might join the incoming minority group in the Senate, Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Wednesday.

Sotto said the new opposition will be composed of six members but the number may increase as some senators have made “overtures” to join  them.

The six are Sotto, resigned Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, now Acting Senate President Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, re-elected Senator Gringo Honasan and Senators-elect Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito.

“Minimum of six but there might be some more as we heard some overtures. Some of our colleagues are saying there are [some senators who want to join us],” Sotto said in a radio interview.

The one or two colleagues who might join the new minority are incumbent male senators, but Sotto refused to identify them.

“I’d like them to speak for themselves if and when they decide to join us,” he said in thr radio interview.

While it was not surprising if Senator Loren Legarda would like to join their group, Sotto said they told her to just stay with the administration coalition.

“Barkada namin yun e kaya talagang hindi nakakapagtakang sumama sa amin yun pero hindi pwede. Sabi namin sa kanya, huwag dun ka, kasama ka sa coalition e. Sinisita nga ako e ako,e  NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition) tayong dalawa, anong ginagawa mo dyan? E ikaw anong ginagawa mo dyan?” Sotto said of his banter with Legarda.

Sotto and Legarda both belong to NPC, which has joined the Liberal Party-led coalition during the last May elections.

Legarda ran under the LP-led Team PNoy while Sotto has been identified with Enrile, who is expected to run against Senator Franklin Drilon, the administration bet, for the Senate presidency.