Cayetano: Leadership change not about VP impeachment

MANILA, Philippines — Upon taking his oath, newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano immediately addressed the elephant in the room, declaring that his sudden election was not orchestrated to block the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“I’m not blaming you if you’re saying in the news that this leadership change is about the impeachment. It’s not,” Cayetano said in Filipino in his inaugural speech.

Setting the tone for the looming trial, Cayetano vowed that the chamber would objectively fulfill its constitutional mandate, explicitly warning against throwing out the complaint based purely on political alliances or deciding to convict without solid proof.

“The impeachment will be much, much more than dismissing a complaint because of political affiliation. And it is also much, much more than convicting someone without evidence. Parehong hindi pwede ’yun,” Cayetano said.

He reminded his colleagues that public scrutiny would be firmly fixed on their actions as senator-judges.

“The process is as important as the result. The Senate is also on trial,” he added.

A veteran lawmaker in the Senate, this was Cayetano’s first time as Senate President. He had previously been elected House speaker during the Duterte administration while serving as representative of Taguig-Pateros.

Cayetano framed his new leadership around navigating a barrage of domestic and global crises, citing the economic impacts of the US-Iran-Israel conflict, the aftermath of the pandemic and the massive flood control corruption scandal.

Noting that the poorest Filipinos are the ultimate losers in any crisis, he appealed to the divided chamber to work together.

“In the Senate, we might not like each other, but I think we can work (with) each other and we can love each other,” Cayetano said.

Promising to respect all branches of government – including both the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President – he urged his fellow lawmakers to step up to the challenge of the times and govern without regrets.

“Let’s not regret what we’re going to do. Let’s not do things that we’re going to regret, so feel free to call me out if you think I’m in the wrong direction,” he said.