Senator Aquilino Pimentel III on Tuesday said Senator Cynthia Villar should mind her own party after she castigated members of his PDP-Laban for embroiling her in a leadership challenge against Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
“She shouldn’t poke her nose into our party’s business,” Pimentel said in Filipino, in a text message sent to reporters. “She should concentrate on her own party.”
Speaking to reporters later, Pimentel played down the outburst from Villar, who belongs to the Nacionalista Party.
“That’s just how Senator Villar is when she’s agitated,” he said in Filipino. “All I can say is that she’s also the leader of her own party so mind your own party, fix your own party.”
Villar, however, said she was not meddling in the PDP-Laban’s affairs.
“That’s their problem, I am not interfering,” she said in an interview at the Senate.
In an interview on Monday, Villar admitted she declined to sign a manifesto of support for Sotto as she had not yet consulted with her two other party mates who were abroad, Senators-elect Imee Marcos and Pia Cayetano.
When asked to sign the manifesto, Villar told Pimentel and Senator Manny Pacquiao that before they asked her to sign the motion of support Sotto, they should first fix their problems within the party.
The PDP-Laban was hounded by several controversies during the campaign period, and before that, there were moves to oust Pimentel as president of the ruling party.
Just recently, Senator-elect Francis Tolentino, also of PDP-Laban, floated speculation that Villar would challenge Sotto for the Senate presidency in the 18th Congress.
“Why do we have to sign this? Why are you getting me involved in your quarrel? Why are you like that?” said Villar when the senators approached for her signature.
“Go fix your party mate. Don’t involve me in your quarrel,” she told them in Filipino.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the 18th Congress in the Senate will have two committees devoted to education.
Gatchalian said he and Senator Joel Villanueva agreed there will be a committee for basic education and there will be another committee for higher education. Gatchalian said he would head the former, while Villanueva would lead the latter.
At present, there is only one committee for education: The Senate committee on education, arts, and culture which is chaired by outgoing Senator Francis Escudero.
Escudero, who said he had signed the resolution in support of Sotto, said it was too early for posturing over the Senate leadership.
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