No one has the numbers to bag Senate presidency — Drilon

With less than a week before Congress opens session, Senator Franklin Drilon on Tuesday confirmed that none of the contenders for the Senate presidency has the numbers to bag the Senate's top post. In an interview, Drilon said that neither Senator Francis Pangilinan of the Liberal Party (LP) nor Senator Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party (NP) has the 13 votes needed to secure the Senate presidency. "At this point, nobody has the 13 (votes)," he told reporters. Drilon, who is from the LP, said the reason why no candidate has so far gained the needed votes is because of the Philippines' multi-party system. "I'm not surprised because of the composition of the Senate," he said. Pangilinan has the votes of fellow LP members: Senators Drilon, Teofisto Guingona III, and Ralph Recto. He also claims to have the support of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senate Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and Senators Francis Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV. Enrile and Estrada both belong to the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) party while Escudero and Trillanes are independent. On the other hand, Villar has the votes of Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pilar Juliana Cayetano, Joker Arroyo, and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Pia Cayentano and Marcos ran under the NP during the May polls while Santiago was a guest candidate. Those known to be part of Senator Edgardo Angara's bloc are still undecided. This group includes Senators Gringo Honasan, Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Lito Lapid, Ramon Bong Revilla, and Juan Miguel Zubiri. Angara belongs to the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino; Sotto and Legarda to the Nationalist People's Coalition; and Lapid, and Bong Revilla, and Zubiri to the Lakas-Kampi-CMD. Honasan is an independent. Palace meddling? On Monday, Santiago said Malacañang is meddling with the race for the Senate presidency in the hopes of controlling the chamber. She said the Palace was interfering with the contest by supposedly attempting to float (Panfilo) Lacson, release Trillanes, and buy Lapid's vote. Drilon, however, criticized Santiago for making the accusation. "Nobody can control the Senate, not even Malacanang," he said. On July 26, the Senate secretary will preside over the opening of the Senate session. Drilon said that somebody will then move to elect a presiding officer either through a caucus or voting. He said that the presiding officer does not need to get 13 votes, just the majority of votes of the senators present. "I do not know (who the senators might pick)... let the majority of the body decide," he said. He said the presiding officer would preside over the election of a new Senate president on the floor. If no Senate president is elected because of a stalemate, he said the presiding officer will be the Senate's representative during the State of the Nation Address to be held later in the day. "Since there is no Senate president, that is the practice... that is the correct procedure," he said. — RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV