Majority or minority? Cayetano siblings open to form 'independent' bloc in Senate

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Majority or minority? Cayetano siblings open to form 'independent' bloc in Senate

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

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MANILA — Senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano on Wednesday said they might form their own "independent" coalition in the Senate outside the traditional majority and minority blocs, depending on the outcome of their negotiations with other senators of the incoming 19th Congress.

In a press conference, the siblings said they have yet to decide whether they would join the majority bloc led by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the presumptive Senate President, or the minority bloc said to be made up of only Senators Koko Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros.

"I can tell you honestly wala pa kaming decision ngayon pero we're keeping our options na maging independent din," Alan Peter said.

(We have no decision yet, but we're keeping our option to be independent, too.)

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Under the current rules, those who would vote for the winning Senate President would automatically be part of the majority bloc, while those who voted for the losing bet would be with the minority bloc.

"Magkakaroon ng pangatlong bloc," Alan Peter said, adding it would operate like an "independent minority" similar to the one in the House of Representatives.

(There will be a third bloc.)

Pia said she would like to assume the role of a "senior senator" and become a mentor to neophyte legislators.

"I'd like to believe that I have earned this position, where I am now, as a senior senator, and I can be effective wherever I can be," Pia said.

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The senator added she was still weighing the pros and cons of joining whichever Senate bloc.

"To put it bluntly wala naman akong choice kundi katayin yung mga bills na panget, ilibing yung mga bills na walang saysay na pati typo ako pa magko-correct. Do I need to be in the majority to do that? No. Will I be more effective in the minority? I don't think so," she said.

(I have no choice anyway but to overhaul the bad bill, bury the useless ones, I even have to correct the typos.)

The siblings said more negotiations were in place in the coming days before the opening of the 19th Congress on Monday.

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