JV Ejercito declines Alan Peter Cayetano's offer to be Senate majority leader

Senator JV Ejercito on Monday disclosed that Senate President Alan Cayetano had offered him the post of Senate Majority Leader, but he declined.

Ejercito rose to clarify his affiliation as senators underwent another reorganization under Cayetano’s new Senate leadership.

“I thank Mr. [Senate] President for the trust and confidence. I was offered to become Majority Leader, but as of this time, I would rather remain independent,” Ejercito said during Monday’s plenary session ahead of the convening of the Senate impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Thank you for the trust. Being a Majority Leader is one of the most powerful positions in the Senate,” he added.

Cayetano was elected Senate president on May 11 with 13 votes, including that of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who resurfaced at the Senate to cast his vote in favor of the chamber’s new majority leadership.

Dela Rosa’s surprise appearance came after more than six months out of public view amid an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with alleged crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war.

During the same plenary session on Monday, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri also manifested his intention to join the Senate minority bloc, currently headed by Senator Vicente Sotto III, who was unseated as Senate president on May 11.

The Senate is now composed of 13 members in the majority bloc, 10 in the minority, and Ejercito as an independent.

Sotto’s removal came shortly before the House of Representatives was expected to move forward with impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte. —MCG, GMA News