Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III brushed off the recent attempt to change the leadership in the Upper Chamber, saying he has long grown accustomed to such moves.
In an interview on Friday, Feb. 6, Sotto noted that since joining the Senate in 1992, he has witnessed and experienced multiple leadership reshuffles.
“I hate to use the term, pero been there, done that. 1992 pa ako d’yan (I’ve been there since 1992),” he remarked.
He recalled that between 1992 and 1998, during the 9th and 10th Congresses, the Senate saw four leadership changes in just six years. “I’m already used to leadership reshuffles,” he added.
Sotto earlier said that the attempted coup had nothing to do with his leadership and was more about the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report and the senators’ stance on matters related to China.
The minority bloc wanted to seat Senator Loren Legarda as the first woman Senate President.
For him, the move was also triggered by the removal of Senator Imee Marcos from the Committee on Foreign Relations. She was later replaced by Senator Erwin Tulfo.
But Sotto believed they didn’t have the numbers to unseat him. “As early as the roll call, alam na namin walang numero to unseat the leadership. To unseat the leader, you must have 13 votes. The 13 votes you must have in writing,” Sotto explained.
“In fact, hindi pwedeng commitment na salita lang, di pwede yan. That is a very dangerous move, mapapahiya ka,” he added.
He disclosed, however, that the position of Senate President had been offered to Legarda when the 20th Congress opened, but she turned it down.
Meanwhile, Sotto said that a plan to reach out to the minority bloc is not far-fetched, in the sense of combining both the majority and minority.
“Pwede magsama-sama ang minorities dyan, pwedeng mawala ‘yung dividing line. At kasi nag-uusap-uusap din naman kami… it’s not far-fetched na pwedeng magsama-sama ang ilan sa mga members ng minority sa majority,” he said. (Dhel Nazario)
