Newly-elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday, May 11, denied that the leadership change in the upper chamber was connected to the impending impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, even as the House of Representatives deliberated the articles of impeachment in its plenary session at the same hour senators voted to oust Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and install him in the top post.
“Before us might be the impeachment. Let me make it very clear—may mga lumabas sa news, and hindi ko kayo sinisisi kung sinasabi niyo sa news na ang pagpalit ng leadership ay tungkol sa impeachment. Hindi po. The impeachment is enshrined in the Constitution,” Cayetano said in his speech after taking his oath.
Cayetano was elected Senate President with 13 votes against Sotto’s 9, with two senators abstaining. The vote came as the House plenary was simultaneously deliberating the impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte, which, if approved, would trigger a Senate trial under the new Cayetano-led leadership.
The new Senate President warned that the impeachment must not be reduced to a partisan exercise on either side, stressing that the chamber itself would be under scrutiny once the articles reach the Senate.
“The impeachment will be much, much more than dismissing a complaint because of political affiliation. And it’s also much, much more than convicting someone without evidence. Parehong hindi pwede iyon. Kailangan guided tayo by the truth, guided by evidence. But the process is as important as the result,” Cayetano said.
He added that lawmakers cannot dismiss or convict based on political judgment alone.
“Hindi natin pwedeng sabihin, ‘She or he will make a bad president,’ or ‘wala na tayong maaasahan diyan sa presidente, wala tayong maaasahan sa vice president, impeach na lang natin.’ Hindi po. The Senate is also on trial,” he said.
Opening his speech with a citation of Jeremiah 29:11, Cayetano framed his ascent to the Senate presidency against a backdrop of overlapping crises—from the human rights and drug war debates of the Duterte years, to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the US-Iran-Israel war, the ongoing flood control corruption scandal, and the disruption posed by artificial intelligence.
“We might not feel the crisis here in the session hall, but our people, may it be the grab drivers, the tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers, iyong maliliit na kalendria, iyong mga beneficiaries ng 4Ps, ramdam na ramdam na nila,” he said.
Cayetano closed by extending his hand to colleagues across political divisions and pledging to serve the institution rather than any single bloc.
“Just as Senate President Sotto said that he is here to serve everyone, not only the majority, not only the minority, I am here to respect the President, the Office of the President, the Vice President, the Office of the Vice President, the House of Representatives, and each one of you,” he said.
