Senate President Koko Pimentel said yesterday he is ready to let go of the Senate leadership if he loses the confidence of his peers in the Upper Chamber.
Pimentel made the statement amid reports he and Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” C. Sotto III have a term-sharing agreement over the Senate presidency.
“Categorically, sinasabi ko wala kaming term-sharing ni Sen. Sotto. Pero categorically sinasabi ko rin na anytime ready ako to let go,” Pimentel said in a radio DZBB interview.
“I’m ready to let go and be part of the majority bloc and support the new Senate President,” he said.
Pimentel has confirmed he is going to run for senator again in the upcoming midterm elections in May 2019.
He also denied feeling threatened to be ousted by members of the majority in light of the grievances expressed by Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito who complained that reelectionist senators who have been supportive of President Duterte have been left out of the PDP-Laban senatorial slate.
“Hindi ako threatened kasi alam ko naman anytime dapat handa rin ako. I should be able to let go anytime,” said Pimentel.
Since he is the “most senior and most experienced” member of the Senate, Pimentel said he would consult Sotto on his candidacy.
“Ako ay magiging kandidato, pati yun ire-review ko kung OK lang ba na kandidato ako tapos Senate President din. Pag-uusapan namin ‘yan,” he said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he is confident Pimentel’s leadership is stable and debunked claims of leadership changes.
“Of course, there are political issues that the leadership has to thresh out because elections are near. The filing is already on October,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian noted that most of the members of the majority bloc come from different parties.
“So it’s best if they start arranging if there are arrangements or tandem they have in mind, or if they have a coalition they plan to carry in the upcoming elections,” he said. (Hannah L. Torregoza)
