SEN. Cynthia Villar has offered a term sharing deal for the Senate presidency to re-elected Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri in a bid to fasttrack the selection process for the Senate’s top post, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said.
In an interview, Dela Rosa said Villar personally made the offer to Zubiri after the elections.
“Open naman si Sen. Cynthia sa term sharing. In fact, nag offer siya noon pa. I’m not sure with Migz kung okay sa kanya (Sen. Cynthia is open to term sharing. In fact, she made the offer days ago. I’m not sure with Sen. Migz if it is okay with him),” Dela Rosa said.
The Senate has been rife with talks on who would be the next Senate president in the 19th Congress, with incumbent Senate President Vicente Sotto III ending his two terms as senator on June 30.
Among those reportedly eyeing the highest Senate post are Villar, Zubiri and re-elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Dela Rosa said he and six other incumbent and incoming senators have pledged their support to Villar. The others include incumbent Senators Christopher Go, Francis Tolentino, Imee Marcos, Ramon Revilla Jr., and incoming Senators Mark Villar and Robin Padilla.
Zubiri, on the other hand, has the support of the “seatmates” group composed of Senators Juan Edgardo Angara, Gatchalian and returning Senators Joel Villanueva and JV Ejercito.
He has also won to his side Senators Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Aquilino Pimentel III, Manuel Lapid, and incoming Senators Francis Escudero, Loren Legarda.
The swing votes will be coming from re-elected Sen. Risa Hontiveros and incoming Senators Raffy Tulfo and Jinggoy Estrada.
Dela Rosa said the Cayetano siblings — Alan Peter and Pia — are poised to join the minority bloc.
Dela Rosa said that Villar and Zubiri have been in constant talks to iron out the Senate presidency among the two of them, which he said was sometimes coursed through him.
“Hindi naman ako negotiator. Ayoko bigyan ng emphasis ang papel ko dito, Gusto ko lang makatulong na mag-create ng super majority (I am not a negotiator. I don’t want to give emphasis on my role here. I just want to help so we can create a super majority),” he said.
He decided to throw his support to Villar since she was the one who first approached him.
“But it doesn’t mean that the other one (Zubiri) is less as a leader…Kung pag-uusapan ay pareho naman sila ng experience (If we talk of experience, they are equal. They are both supportive to the incoming administration on president-elect Marcos,” he added.
If the term sharing pushes through, Dela Rosa said Villar will sit first.
Dela Rosa, however, said that the number of senators who expressed their support to either Villar or Zubiri could change into the run-up to the opening of the 19th Congress.
