Cayetano holds on to Senate presidency; minority gains Ejercito, Zubiri

MANILA, May 19 ------ Despite rumors that he is set to be replaced, Alan Peter Cayetano held on to the Senate Presidency. Meanwhile, the minority gained two members who previously voted to abstain during last week's Senate Presidential Elections.

The session opened at 3:00 p.m., and Cayetano held on to the gavel as he called it to order. A total of 23 senators were present, with Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa the lone absentee. During the session, Senators Miguel Zubiri and JV Ejercito joined the Senator Vicente Sotto III-led Minority, with Ejercito thanking the new Majority for the offer to be Majority Leader. "Binatikos nga ako nila, sabi nila na ako nag fence-sitting at nag-abstain. Nag-abstain lang ako para I have a free hand to vote on which issue that I think is important for the Filipino people. But when it comes to the reorganization, I would like to associate myself with the minority, Mr. President," said Zubiri. "As of this time, I would rather maintain my independence," said Ejercito, for his part. "For now, Mr. President, I'll be with the Minority. I would like to thank you for the respect, and we will all still be friends, no matter what."

Ahead of the session, Cayetano had acknowledged that there were calls for his ouster as Senate President. "Yesterday, someone sent me -- the shortest-serving Senate President served for 13 days," he said. "Hindi ko alam kung matatalo ko 'yung 13 days, or kung seven, eight days lang po ako." "Now, if I remain or kung papalitan ako, sana hindi matibag ang Senado," Cayetano added.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com