Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Sunday neophyte senators should study lawmaking first before meddling in the Senate leadership race.
He made the statement amid the persistent rumors of a plot to have Senate President Vicente Sotto III replaced when the 18th Congress opens in July.
“The incoming senators should study first. I will say it directly, the leadership change is far from our mandate, Drilon said in a radio interview.
“They were elected by the people to make laws and not to meddle in a leadership quarrel stressed We should work first and show our people that we are worth the mandate that we received from them.”
In the Senate, Senator Panfilo Lacson said no one, not even the President, could influence or dictate on the Senate leadership.
He said the senators would not yield to the “wish” of the President on the senate presidency.
“Because of democracy, there is no such thing as Malacañang dictating what it wants, Lacson said.
He said the senators had always proven their independence because “we have a national constituency just like the House. We are not easily swayed by the whims of Malacañang.”
Recalling his experience when he first became a senator in 1995, Drilon said he was a mere observer when senior senators, including the late Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani, orchestrated a move to oust the late Senate President Edgardo Angara Sr.
“That’s a reality that a neophyte senator must accept, Drilon said.
“Unless Senator Sotto committed a mortal sin, I don’t think any senior senator will care to listen to a neophyte senator if he or she moves to campaign for a change of leadership.”
Drilon said the leadership of the Senate would eventually be decided by the Senate and not Malacanang.
He praised the minority’s working relationship with the current Senate leadership, saying Sotto had treated every one in the majority and minority bloc fairly.
“His leadership has been good. He treats every one fairly. He knows that he is the president of the Senate and not just of the majority and he listens to every one, Drilon said.