‘New Senate leadership to implement reforms’

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who is expected to be the Senate majority leader, said on Friday that under the new Senate leadership in the 16th Congress, the promise of reforms would finally be fulfilled.

The Senate has been under fire for how it has been using its funds, something which Cayetano said was the fault of the leadership of the institution under former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.

In a press briefing, Cayetano criticized the Senate leadership led by Enrile for failing to come through with their promises of reforms, particularly on the use of the savings and other funds of the institution.

“It’s going to be real reform and not just lip service or the rearrangement of how funds are used,” Cayetano said.

“The difference between the Enrile and Drilon administrations is the Enrile administration talked about reforms (while) the Drilon administration will not talk about it and will just do it. What is more important with reforms is to actually do it,” he added.

Sen. Franklin Drilon is expected to be elected Senate president.

Drilon, Cayetano and Sen. Ralph Recto, who is expected to be the Senate President Pro Tempore, met on Thursday for what Cayetano said was one of many meetings being undertaken to discuss the organization of the Senate.

“This includes how the funds of the Senate should be used and this will be part of the reforms of the Drilon Senate presidency,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano, along with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, led an attack against Enrile late last year and early this year regarding his decisions on how the savings of the Senate would be used.

Santiago was furious over Enrile’s decision to provide varying levels of cash gifts and additional maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE) to the senators.

She denounced how Enrile decided to give his allies more funds compared to his critics, including herself and Cayetano.

Cayetano followed up the issues raised by Santiago and challenged Enrile to account for how he allocated and spent the savings of the Senate.

According to Cayetano, the different senators were asked to provide inputs on how to address the transparency and accountability issues on the use of the funds of the Senate.

Also included in the reforms that would be introduced is the rationalization of the oversight committees in the Senate, which was also scrutinized for its increase over the years and the varying levels of budgets they are given annually.

Challenge for Cayetano

Meanwhile, Cayetano is facing the challenge of coming to work early if selected as the new majority leader.

Drilon and Sen. Cynthia Villar said Cayetano should be able to face the challenges of the job, which mandates him to report early in order to preside along with the Senate president during regular session days.

“You should not accept a position if you are not up to it,” said Villar, Cayetano’s partymate in the Nacionalista Party.

She also expressed confidence that Cayetano will be able to perform well as majority leader.

Villar branded as speculation earlier reports that the NP bloc wanted to get the posts of Senate president pro-tempore and majority leader.

Drilon believes Cayetano would live up to the expectations of his colleagues, as well as the public.

The attendance records of Enrile, Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada and former majority leader Vicente Sotto III are tough acts to follow because they scored perfect attendance in all the three regular sessions of the 15th Congress.

When Cayetano was minority leader, he was marked 55 times tardy or arriving after the roll call.

He was marked absent 73 days out of the total 214 session days in the 15th Congress, the Senate Journal showed.

The Senate president and majority leader have always been a team. The session does not start if either of them is absent.

The Senate president pro tempore substitutes for the Senate president only if he is not available.

Benefits of economic growth

A number of senators expect President Aquino to start focusing on bringing the benefits of economic growth to the masses during the last three years of his term.

Drilon said what is important is that the President has shown his political will to institute the necessary reforms.

Cayetano, for his part, said the President should work on programs and policy directions that “would not only continue the growth of the economy but have some interventions that will assure that the trickle down of the economy is felt.” – With Christina Mendez