Palace not alarmed over talks of leadership change in Senate

Malacanang is unfazed over supposed talks of another change of leadership in the Senate – less than a month after Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III assumed the helm of the lower chamber.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Office Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro quoted Sotto as assuring that matters in the Senate are “stable.”

“According to Senate President Tito Sotto, stable naman po ang nangyayari sa Senado at nag-e-express lamang po sila ng kanilang mga damdamin at karapatan naman po nilang pumili kung sino iyong nararapat na maging leader or mamuno sa kanila,” Castro said on Tuesday.

(What’s happening in the Senate is stable and they are just expressing their sentiments and their rights in choosing who will lead them.) 

“'So, may freedom of expression sila, may democracy sila sa loob ng Senado – so, hindi naman po siya alarming,” Castro added.

(They have freedom of expression, there is democracy in the Senate — so, it's not alarming.)

Earlier, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines warned that a change in the leadership of the upper chamber would heighten the public’s suspicion of a cover-up in the ongoing probe of corruption and anomalies in flood control projects.

In a statement posted on CBCP News, CBCP president Caloocan Bishop Pablo Cardinal David said are opposed to “any attempt to pre-empt or derail the investigation through backroom deals, leadership takeovers, or selective justice.”

The prelates also urged public officials to conduct inquiries into the “flood control corruption scandal” with integrity.

Despite talk that some senators are planning to leave the majority bloc, Sotto said he is confident that he still has the support of majority of his colleagues. Sotto took over the Senate on Sept. 8, replacing Senator Francis Escudero.

Last week, Senator JV Ejercito said he is thinking of leaving the majority bloc due to his disappointment that the Senate has seemingly forgetting the real culprits of irregularities in flood control projects. — JMA, GMA Integrated News