Cayetano on ouster talks: If they have 13, congratulations

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday talked about letting go of the Senate presidency amid speculations he could be ousted during a special session of Congress called by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The  convening of the special session is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

READ: Marcos calls for Congress special session

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“If they already have 13, congratulations. We know how you got it—through intimidation, bribery, and threats of imprisonment,” Cayetano said in a Facebook live video.

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“But we said that anytime you already have 13, you can take over leadership. However, our principles will not change. So my question is, if you get 13, are we going to erase the flood control issue again, or will we put it front and center?”

The flood control projects scandal that implicated several lawmakers has been the subject of investigation by the Senate blue ribbon committee, which is now under the leadership of Sen. Erwin Tulfo.

For  Cayetano, however,  Sen. Rodante Marcoleta remains and should stay as head of the blue ribbon panel.

Both Cayetano and Marcoleta lost their posts when a motion to declare all seats vacant was approved in the plenary during the last session day of the Senate on June 3.

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This paved the way for the elections of new officials, including Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who was installed as Senate president pro  tempore and Tulfo as new head of the  blue ribbon committee, replacing Marcoleta.

READ: Gatchalian elected Senate president pro tempore

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Cayetano said it was obvious that the goal of the special session was to remove him as Senate president, and take control of the blue ribbon committee.

“Actually, our group discussed that they can take everything — the Senate presidency and all the committees. But if they are sincere, they should leave the blue ribbon  committee to us…” he said.

Before ending his Facebook live, Cayetano opted to drop his titles as senator and Senate president as he prefers to be called “Kuya Alan.”

“This is your humble servant, Kuya Alan. I will no longer call myself a senator, and I will no longer call myself Senate president or whatever, because those positions don’t matter to me,” he said.

“But I want to be seen as an elder brother, because an older brother is someone who protects his siblings. An older brother is also someone that our father and mother can lean on for help in taking care of the family,”  the senator explained. /das

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