Aside from Senator Joel Villanueva, one male and one female senator are likely to bolt from the Cayetano-led faction, although they remain hesitant to make a firm commitment for fear of public backlash, Senator Erwin Tulfo revealed Monday.
Tulfo, currently allied with Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian, said their bloc has been in talks with some of their colleagues from Senator Alan Cayetano’s faction for quite some time now through private dinners and visits.
However, the negotiations have reportedly made little progress because the senators in question allegedly fear intense criticism for switching allegiances amid rumors of external pressure from Malacañang.
“Two more others are being persuaded [to switch sides] aside from Sen. Joel—one male and female,” Tulfo said in Filipino in a radio interview. “The talks are ongoing…but there’s no clear result yet.”
Tulfo did not name names, although he gave a hint that the two senators are close with “senior members of the majority.”
The rumored power shift could finally put an end to the weeks-long deadlock by increasing Gatchalian’s number from 12 to 15, surpassing the constitutionally mandated threshold of 13 votes to elect a Senate president.
Cayetano’s so-called majority bloc went down from 13 to 10 following the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada on plunder charges related to flood control “kickbacks”, the continued hiding of Senator Bato dela Rosa to evade an International Criminal Court warrant, and Senator Chiz Escudero’s surprise breakaway from the faction to join the group of Gatchalian on 3 June.
However, Cayetano has been steadfast in refusing to honor the takeover, calling it unconstitutional by failing to meet the 13-majority threshold.
As a result, he has maintained that he remains the rightful Senate president, unless Gatchalian secures at least one more vote to break the impasse.
Villanueva’s weekend announcement that he would attend a special session to be called by President Marcos Jr. further stirred speculations that he is already poised to break away from Cayetano’s camp.
Villanueva stopped short of explicitly confirming whether the possible move signals his complete defection from Cayetano’s bloc. He insisted that “This is not the time for partisanship,” citing the need to pass stalled crucial bills as a result of the Cayetano-led bloc’s session boycott from 1 to 3 June, as well as the supplemental funding for the quake-hit communities in Mindanao.
As highly anticipated, the President ordered Congress to convene a special session on Wednesday to urgently pass priority social protection measures to expedite aid to Mindanao, and settle pending confirmations for military generals, among others.
The majority bloc under Gatchalian expressed readiness for the special session.
Senator Migz Zubiri suggested that no amount of “drama and “delaying tactics” can stop the chamber from “act[ing] on urgent matters before us.”
“We will work, and we will do our duty for the people. The Senate has always had the capacity to rise above difficult moments, and I trust that we can approach this session with seriousness, respect for our mandate, and a clear sense of responsibility to the people,” Zubiri stressed.
