Zubiri says CA minority different from Senate; Risa won't acknowledge Cayetano as CA minority chief

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday explained that the composition of the minority bloc in the Senate and in the Commission on Appointments (CA) is different after Senator Risa Hontiveros opposed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's election as minority leader of the constitutional body.

"The CA is an independent constitutional body. Hindi po 'yan Kongreso, Senado. 'Yan po ay independent constitutional body made up of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Now, iba 'yung composition ng  minority. 'Yan din ang explanation ko kay Risa. Sabi ko 'yung minority ng CA is different from the minority both of the House and of the Senate. Ibang composition yan," Zubiri, who sits as the CA chairperson, said in an interview with reporters.

"So it is not necessarily true that if you are a member of the minority in the Senate, you are automatically the minority leader of the CA. It is the members of the minority of the CA that will decide on who will lead the CA minority contingent," he added.

In the 19th Congress, the Senate minority bloc, composed of Hontiveros and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, was given one seat in the powerful bicameral commission.

Hontiveros was elected to be a member of the CA along with 11 other senators, including Cayetano who has identified himself as a member of the "independent" bloc in the Senate.

During the opening of the 19th Congress in July, Cayetano along with his sister, Senator Pia Cayetano, did not vote for Zubiri as the Senate president.

Although by tradition, those who did not vote for the winning Senate president will automatically become members of the minority, the Cayetano siblings manifested on the floor that they will be part of the so-called independent bloc.

Zubiri explained that under the rules, those who did not vote for the Senate president will still be considered as part of the minority.

"So in the declaration of the members of the CA...I spoke and put on record that he is actually an independent member of the Senate," he said.

By tradition, Zubiri said the CA is led by the Senate president, the majority leader will come from the House of Representatives and the minority will be led by a senator.

He said the senators held a caucus to determine who will be elected as CA's minority leader but both Cayetano and Hontiveros insisted on getting the post.

Cayetano suggested settling the issue through a vote but Zubiri said the majority cannot interfere with the issues of the minority.

"I said, we, the majority cannot vote for you guys because we are not within the realm of your responsibility to choose who are the members of the minority, that is not how it is. 'Yung mga miyembro ng minority ang pipili kung sino ang magli-lead sa kanila," he said.

"It so happens that the two members of the minority in the House, Congressman Johnny Pimentel and Congressman Chippy Padiernos, chose Alan Cayetano to lead the minority bloc in the CA. So wala na po kaming magagawa d'yan. That's not my responsibility. That's not on my watch. I have no say [on that]," he added.

In a separate virtual interview, Hontiveros said she cannot acknowledge Cayetano as the CA minority leader due to the vagueness of his membership in the Senate minority bloc

"Hindi ako nag-object sa kanilang nominasyon dahil malinaw na sa akin 'yung outcome ng proseso but I made several, very clear manifestations. Hindi ko rin ginulo 'yung proseso, pati hanggang sa kanilang panunumpa. But dahil napakamali nung pinagsimulan at ito ang naging bunga, in conscience, I cannot work under him as the minority leader of the CA," she said.

Although she said her apprehension is not about one particular individual, Hontiveros argued that the rules in the Senate and the CA were set for the members to follow and for them to assume their particular roles.

With the Cayetanos' non-participation in the election of the Senate minority leader, Hontiveros asserted that this does not qualify them to be members of the minority.

"Kaya nga nandun 'yung rules eh—'yung rules ng Senate, rules din ng CA, para aming sundin, para malinaw ang accountabilities namin sa mamamayan, given 'yung particular roles na inaassume namin in every Congress, so kami ni Sen. Koko, malinaw ang responsibilidad namin bilang minority, and that included serving as the CA minority leader coming from the Senate. So, yun, gaya ng binanggit ko sa manifestation ko, it was really, most of all, concern for the Senate and the CA following our rules, as we should," she said.

"Ang dapat nahalal na minority leader ng CA ay galing sa minority ng Senate, na dapat ang basehan ng pag-determine namin sino ang minority bilang Senado as supported by the Supreme Court ay institutional na considerations, nothing lower or less, at hindi pwedeng paiba-iba kami ng titulo depende sa kung ano 'yung layunin namin in particular situations, shifting from independent to majority to minority, and in the end, nakaka-undermine sa demokrasya at nakakabura sa lines of accountability namin sa mamamayan. It also undermines the existence of a genuine minority voice," she added.

Hontiveros said she is discussing this with Pimentel on the steps that they will take moving forward but she said that she can function very well as a member of the CA for the Senate minority even without the CA minority leader.

GMA News Online sought the comment of Cayetano's office on the statements of Hontiveros but it has yet to respond as of posting time.—AOL, GMA News