The bid to replace Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III was not an easy choice for the majority bloc for he has been kind, in fact, too kind that he became inapt for a position that needs a tough leader, Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said.
This came after majority of the senators drafted a resolution seeking for the reshuffling of the upper chamber and petitioning Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III to replace Pimentel.
Ejercito clarified there is no major issue or scandal involved in this move of the majority bloc, and they wish that Sotto and Pimentel could talk about it to make way for a smooth transition.
“If there is a major issue or if there is really something that we do not like in SP Koko, it would have been easier. That’s why it’s also difficult for us because SP Koko is kind, I always say his integrity is beyond question, if it comes that a change in leadership will happen, we hope it will be between the two of them, we hope for a smooth transition,” Ejercito said.
Although ‘kind,’ Ejercito said Pimentel lacks some qualities of a politican.
“He may really be lacking in being a politician, maybe in managing an institution like this that is very political,” Ejercito said in Filipino.
Moreover, he said that Sotto’s seniority in terms of length of service in the Senate could be his advantage.
Ejercito is one of the 14 senators who signed the resolution. The 13 others were Senators Edgardo Angara, Nancy Binay, Francis Escudero, Sherwin Gatchalian, Richard Gordon, Gregorio Honasan II, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Manny Pacquiao, Ralph Recto, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 05/ 18 /18