Metro Manila, Philippines – All eyes are on the Senate on Monday, May 18, as the leadership of Alan Peter Cayetano hangs in the balance with talks of another possible leadership change to coincide with the convening of the Impeachment Court for the case of Vice President Sara Duterte.
An unceremonial twist swept Cayetano to the leadership last week marked by the sudden appearance of absentee Sen. Bato dela Rosa, but just days after, Cayetano admitted threats to his new role. A successful ouster would make him the shortest sitting Senate president in Philippine history.
“Expected naman ‘yun e [That’s expected],” he said in an interview with reporters last week, referring to another possible leadership change.
A number of names were reportedly floated as replacement, including Win Gatchalian and Kiko Pangilinan.
Pangilinan said he was not interested in the post, and would rather focus on his advocacy on food security.
Gatchalian, on the other hand, just called for “calm and responsible discourse” to safeguard the economy amid what he called escalating political rhetoric.
“The cost of all this political chatter is starkly evident in the peso’s performance against the dollar. While external factors are at play, analysts are now citing an ‘uncertainty premium’ attributed to political tensions,” he said.
A number of groups have called on Cayetano to step down, citing “grave failure of leadership, judgment, and institutional responsibility” for offering protective custody for Dela Rosa and the tensions that unfolded in the Senate.
Some senators have also demanded an explanation from the Senate president on the standoff between in-house security and National Bureau of Investigation agents inside the chamber’s premises.
Convening of Impeachment Court
Meanwhile, Cayetano had set the convening of the Impeachment Court for Vice President Sara Duterte’s case on Monday, May 18.
He said he vowed to act on Duterte’s impeachment forthwith, and that there will be no delays in the process.
House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon previously said the 11-member of the prosecution team was ready to attend Day 1 of the Impeachment Court.
However, in a televised interview on Monday morning, his fellow prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the group has yet to discuss the attendance without a formal invitation from the Senate.
The Senate received the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte last week. The vice president was impeached by 257 House members over allegations of corruption, unexplained wealth, and threats to the presidential family.
