FORMER Speaker and senator-elect Alan Peter Cayetano said he would join the majority bloc in the Upper Chamber provided he gets the chairmanship of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
Cayetano disclosed that Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is eyeing the Senate presidency, asked him to join the majority given their history of working together.
“What I can contribute is given and they’re for unity, “he said.
“So I told him (Zubiri) what they need is a fiscalizer. So if you will give me the Blue Ribbon Committee, there might be a reason for me to join the majority because I will be able to do my job,” Cayetano said. He added that if Zubiri gave him a committee “where I cannot fiscalize, or only a few will fiscalize or those who will fiscalize are in are in disagreement, that would be difficult.”
The come-backing senator also told Zubiri that if he believed in democracy just like the 31 million Filipinos who voted for
President-elect Ferdinand Marcos, he should also believe in fiscalizing.
“So for those who did not vote for President-elect BBM, they also want a fiscalizer,” Cayetano said.
He stressed that a fiscalizer is like media, adding that there is no democracy if there is no media.
“So I’ll be happy to be in the minority if the majority cannot give me a role where I will be able to explicitly say what is right (and) what
is wrong,” Cayetano said.
“So that’s the present status and perhaps, we will talk again a few weeks before the SONA (state of the nation address) because many are not in the country or busy organizing,” he added.
Sought for his comment, Zubiri said will consult the majority regarding Cayetano’s request.
“We have already discussed this with Senator (Francis) Tolentino and he had already accepted the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon Committee so it’s not my decision to make at this moment,” Zubiri said.
He pointed out that a number of senators would be on vacation for the next two weeks before he can call for an initial meeting of
the super majority.
“We can only make a decision then,” he added.
The chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee was initially offered to Tolentino who accepted it.
However, Cayetano insisted he has no intention to take out the committee or to grab any committee from anyone else.
“Very capable si Senator Tolentino. It was just my response to offer
to join the majority, but I want to be a fiscalizer. To be effective,
fiscalizer, there are certain things that has to be done,” he
said.
Asked if the minority group has already talked to him, the senator
said he got reports they will talk to him. But right now, they are
still attending to many other things.
