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Sotto says he is ‘open’ to become next Senate President
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said on Thursday, April 26, that he is willing to become the next Senate President if his colleagues give him this opportunity. (Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III on Thursday, April 26, said he is willing to become the next Senate President if his colleagues would give him this opportunity.
Speaking at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado, Sotto said “I’m open to that if they offer it or they will give it to me. Sino naman ako para tumanggi (Who am I to resist)?”
Since the start of the 17th Congress, Sotto revealed that his fellow senators were already urging him to become the upper house’s president.
“Yung ibang mga kasama namin (Some of our colleagues) during that time were asking me to seek the Senate presidency but because we wanted a smooth relationship although independent, we wanted a partymate of the President to lead the Senate,” the senator, who has been in Congress since 1992, said.
The Majority Leader also confirmed that a possible change in Senate leadership was brought up in their discussion as incumbent Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, president of ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), needs to prepare for re-election in 2019.
“Napag usapan namin yan, dumaan sa usapan namin yan, na (We have talked about it, it came up in our discussion that) perhaps we can talk about it… before the filing of Certficate of Candidacy, something to that effect,” Sotto stressed.
He added that they will consider the leadership of the Senate again and will consult its members because “It’s always a consensus, it will be a majority decision.”
Sotto earlier this month refuted talks of term-sharing between him and Pimentel, adding that the Senate leadership should be decided by the majority of senators and not only by two people.
“Ang term-sharing hindi maganda pakinggan para sa mga senador sapagkat ano dalawa lang kayo nagu-usap kung sino leader? Hindi pwede ‘yun (The term-sharing is not good to be heard for senators because what only the of you will discuss who is going to be the leader? It cannot be),” Sotto told media last April 4.
“It has to be the entire majority of the members or the entire members of the Senate who will decide who their leader will be, should be —not just two people,” he added.
He further said there was no move to oust Pimentel from his post.
