On 4th day as Senate prez, Cayetano sees an ouster plot

A mere four days after getting his position, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday said a plot for his ouster was already afoot.

Cayetano made the claim as he drew flak from critics, including civil society groups and some fellow lawmakers, over the May 13 shooting incident inside the Senate, a disturbance unprecedented in the history of the chamber.

He is also being pressed to explain the disappearance of one his allies, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, from the Senate’s “protective custody” hours after the shooting, allowing the latter to again be at large as he faced an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“They’re a bit busy right now trying to talk to our members (in the new majority) and convince them to join them again,’’ Cayetano told reporters in a briefing the morning after the shooting.

Asked if he was talking about a possible coup against his leadership by the new minority, he said, “Yeah, that’s expected.”

“There is an invitation to talk and there some intimidation involved but they (my allies) have been scared for a long time,” Cayetano said in wry jest.

As to the majority bloc composed of himself and the 12 senators who helped him wrest the leadership from Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on May 11, he said: “You’re only solid until you’re not, but I believe in the 13. I believe in our cause.”

Slim majority

Himself a beneficiary of a coup, Cayetano was voted to the position by senators also allied with former President Rodrigo Duterte or his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.

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They included his sister Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Christopher “Bong” Go, siblings Mark and Camille Villar, Joel Villanueva, Francis Escudero, Rodante Marcoleta, Jinggoy Estrada, Loren Legarda, Robin Padilla and Dela Rosa.

It was the sudden appearance of Dela Rosa that day, after his six-month absence in the chamber, that provided the crucial vote for Cayetano to secure a slim majority of 12 senators plus himself.

Eight senators voted to restore Sotto as Senate President: Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, brothers Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Lito Lapid, Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino and Sherwin Gatchalian. Senators JV Ejercito and Juan Miguel Zubiri abstained.