Amid renewed rumors of a possible shakeup in the Philippine Senate leadership, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said on Monday that there is still no solid bloc of 13 senators needed to unseat Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, according to a report by RH Raymund Dadpaas.
Speaking to reporters, Cayetano said that as of now, the magic number of 13 votes required to form a new majority is still lacking, and the senators who would support such a move are not yet physically present.
“I think it's rumors until it's there, right? There’s always discussions. There are people with happy of our direction. May people na hindi happy sa direction. Ako personally, I think everyone's campaigning instead of governing,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano admitted that, as members of the minority, they naturally aspire to become the majority, just as the group led by Sotto once did.
“No, we're in the minority. So, of course, we want to be in the majority. Diba? That was never a secret, diba? Sila, they were in the minority, they got it into the majority. But when they got there, everyone was happy giving them a try. They have their victories, they have their faults,” he added.
He lamented that national issues are being sidelined by what feels like an ongoing political campaign.
“But 'yun nga, kung ako tatanungin mo, parang there's a national campaign going on. It's issues that are not got issues, no? It's the direction that's important to us, in the minority,” he said.
Despite talks about leadership changes, Cayetano emphasized that no formal vote or agreement has been reached.
“Sa ngayon wala pa yung 13 na ’yun. Or ’yung 13 hindi present dito,” he added.
Earlier, Senate President Tito Sotto, who replaced Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero in September, said he had not heard of any plans for a Senate coup. He noted that any dissatisfaction with his leadership could stem from his strict approach, particularly his refusal to allow insertions in the 2026 national budget.
Speculation about a leadership shakeup resurfaced over the weekend amid expected changes in committee chairmanships, including potential moves to replace Senator Imee Marcos as chairperson of the foreign relations committee.
