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‘Basta makakaasa kayo: we will stand together on issues that matter,’ Senator Kiko Pangilinan assures his supporters
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Kiko Pangilinan has reassured his supporters that he will not abandon his advocacies and principles even if he has chosen to officially align himself with the Senate majority bloc.
In an interview with John Nery on In the Public Square aired on Wednesday, July 30, Pangilinan was asked about his and Senator Bam Aquino‘s recent move to co-author a Senate minority-led resolution calling for a completely open bicameral conference committee process, and their support for a resolution on how the Senate should proceed with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Asked whether this points to a “reformist bloc” in the Senate where he, Aquino, and Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros will come together on certain issues, Pangilinan said: “Definitely. In fact, I think malamang sa hindi, mas marami kaming mga issues na tataya e (it’s more likely than not that there will be more issues where we will place our stake) on the same side. And that’s nothing new in the Senate.”
He reiterated the example set by former senators who were part of the majority but did not always go along with the decisions of the latter. He cited the late senators Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Nene Pimentel; and former senator Serge Osmeña.
“They were, at one point, aligned with the majority, but in so many words, they will say: ‘To hell with the majority. We will stand with what we believe in.’ All four of them in many debates in the Senate were a majority of one,” Pangilinan recalled.
He also said he and Hontiveros are in constant talks. Many of Pangilinan and Aquino’s supporters have criticized their decision to join the Senate majority, which they saw as “abandoning” Hontiveros in the minority bloc.
Pangilinan said Hontiveros herself had said that she did not feel betrayed by the two senators, and that even ML Representative Leila de Lima backed their decision.
“‘Yung mga supporters natin, ‘wag mangamba…. Kalma-kalma lang. Basta makakaasa kayo: we will stand together on issues that matter: impeachment is one, the accountability is another…. We’re looking forward to being able to move the needle,” he said.
(To our supporters, don’t be alarmed…. Stay calm. You can count on us to stand together on issues that matter: impeachment, accountability…. We’re looking forward to being able to move the needle.)
– Rappler.com
