Sen. Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER PHOTO
Returning Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Thursday quelled talks that he could be a possible contender for the Senate presidency.
“Count me out. I’m not interested,” Lacson said in a text message.
“It’s compromised and (a) compromising position which I won’t fit in,” he added.
Lacson was reacting to reports that he was on the list of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte’s picks to replace incumbent Senate President Franklin Drilon.
Drilon is vice chair of the administration Liberal Party (LP), whose standard-bearer, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, has already conceded the presidential race to Duterte.
Apart from Lacson, other reported possible contenders for the post are Senators Alan Cayetano and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Cayetano is Duterte’s running mate in the May elections while Pimentel is president of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) that endorsed the mayor’s presidential bid.
Pimentel expressed openness to the challenge to run for the post.
“If called to serve in that capacity, it’s my duty as PDP-Laban party president to push for the governance agenda of not only of my party but also of my president,” he said in another text message on Wednesday night.
“But ultimately that will depend on the collective will of my colleagues in the Senate,” Pimentel added.
Inquirer.net tried to get Cayetano’s comment on the issue but he has yet to respond as of posting.
Sen. Sonny Angara, who belongs to the present majority bloc in the chamber, is almost certain that both Cayetano and Pimentel will play major roles in the coming Senate “since both are senior legislators and both have the trust and confidence of the President.”
“I don’t know about the LP but in terms of numbers they still have around six or seven and as such would play a role in the Senate leadership race,” Angara said.
Aside from Drilon, other LP members in the Senate include incumbent Senators Bam Aquino, Ralph Recto, and Teofisto Guingona III.
Drilon, Recto and Guingona, whose terms will expire on June 30, ran for reelection but only Drilon and Recto made it to the Magic 12 based on partial and unofficial counts.
Five more senatorial bets in the winning circle are part of the LP-led ticket: returning Senators Francis Pangilinan (LP) and Lacson (independent), former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (LP), former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) director general Joel Villanueva (independent), and Risa Hontiveros (Akbayan).
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV refused to comment when asked whether or not Cayetano or Pimentel could wrestle the Senate presidency from Drilon.
“We’ll see,” Trillanes said in a text message.
Asked if he was inclined to support either Cayetano or Pimentel, Trillanes said: “Pag-uusapan pa ’yan ng (It will be discussed by the) different blocs.”
Reelectionist Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was also mum on the Senate leadership issue.
“No comment (for now) on the Senate leadership. We are still weighing our options on Senate presidency issue,” Sotto said. RC/rga