Alan Cayetano: I’m part of minority but not Koko-Risa’s bloc

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday asserted his right to be elected as the Commission on Appointments minority leader, saying he is part of the "independent minority" but not the bloc composed of Senators Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros.

In an interview with reporters, Cayetano said that he is an automatic member of the minority because he did not vote for fellow legislator Juan Miguel Zubiri for Senate President.

"Ba't ko sinabi na [Why did I say that] I will not join the minority? I was saying I will not join the Pimentel-Hontiveros minority because I don't agree with some of their stance and I want to be able to help the administration when it's possible but to criticize and fiscalize kapag pwede pero very, very clear na ako'y nasa [I want to be able to help the administration when it's possible but to criticize and fiscalize when I can but it's very, very clear that I'm in the] minority," he said.

Cayetano added that he was one of the most senior senators in the 19th Congress, and that he and his sister Senator Pia Cayetano could have vied for the top minority post, but they made a "sacrifice."

"So either Senator Pia or I could have vied for the minority leader pero ano sabi namin? Napaka-popular ng administrasyon di ba, tapos aapat tayo, magkakagulo pa. So nag-sacrifice kami. Ibigay na lang natin sa kanila," Cayetano said.

(So either Senator Pia or I could have vied for the minority leader but what did we say? The administration is very popular, then there'd be four of us. There would be confusion. So we sacrificed. [We said] let's just give it to them.)

"So ako ba? Mukha ba akong administrasyon? Mayroon bang magsasabi dito na wala akong track record sa pagfi-fiscalize, na hindi ako reasonable even during the time, the first three years of President Aquino, I was the minority leader," he noted.

(Do I look like part of the administration? Is there anybody who can say that I don't have a track record of fiscalizing, that I wasn't reasonable, even when I was minority leader?)

In terms of sitting in the powerful CA, Cayetano said he is more experienced in dealing with department secretaries, being a former Cabinet member himself.

"Apat kaming minority doon. Kasalanan ko ba na walang nag-nominate sa kanya at ako yung binoto ng majority? Hindi. So bakit niya gagawing issue yon?" Cayetano said.

(There were four of us in the minority. Is it my fault that nobody nominated her and I was the one voted in by the majority? No. So why is that being made an issue?)

Although he believes that there would be no limitation on Hontiveros' practice of fiscalizing in the CA, Cayetano expressed confidence that he can represent the opposition well in looking at the qualifications, integrity and the competence of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr's appointees to the Cabinet.

The lawmaker also claimed that the minority bloc is prioritizing getting positions in the chamber over the welfare of the country.

"Ang problema nga inuuna nila ang position kaysa sa kung ano ang makakabuti sa bansa. That's why sinabi ko sa kanya na Senator Risa hindi na kami nakipag-agawan sa minority leader pero siguro naman dito I can do a good job, pero self-serving kasi kung sasabihin niya na mas magaling sya sa CA, sasabihin ko mas magaling ako," he said.

(The problem is they are putting position ahead of what is good for the country. That's why I said to Senator Risa that we are not going to compete over the minority leader position, but surely I can do a good job. It would be self-serving for her to say that she is better at the CA, and me to say I'm better.)

"She wants to do a good job, so do I, but again itatanong ko sa kanya, Senator Risa, ano mas importante [what is more important]? We do a good job, we fiscalize, we serve our people, [or] position? Kasi nag-give way na kami sa lahat position sa kanila [Because we gave way to them]," he added.

GMA News Online has reached out to Hontiveros' for comment.

On Wednesday, Hontiveros said she will not acknowledge Cayetano as the CA minority leader. — BM, GMA News