MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Sunday called on Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano to consider stepping down if he could not unite the chamber, as Senate divisions deepen over proposed rule changes and preparations for an impeachment trial.
Speaking on dzBB, Pimentel said the Senate had become “deeply divided” and warned that internal disputes were affecting its ability to perform its legislative and constitutional functions, including the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Pimentel said Senate leadership required unity and criticized the chamber’s current state of internal conflict.
“You volunteered to be the leader of the chamber, but then your chamber has not been able to achieve anything because of all these bickerings,” Pimentel said.
He said Cayetano should consider stepping aside if he believed senators remained content despite ongoing divisions.
“Maybe you realize, ‘I’m not meant for this. I have to step back and give it up for the good of the chamber,’” he said.
Pimentel, however, did not directly call for Cayetano’s resignation and said the decision should come from the Senate president.
“If he does not want to and he thinks senators are still happy despite achieving nothing because they are always fighting, then that will just continue,” he said.
The remarks came amid tensions between the Senate majority and minority blocs over a proposed amendment to Senate rules that would allow senators to participate and vote remotely during plenary sessions.
The 13-member majority bloc has backed the proposal, while the 11-member minority bloc, led by Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, has opposed it, saying the measure should first go through the committee on rules.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Monday.
Pimentel said the majority should abandon the proposed amendments, arguing that existing rules already allow remote participation under extraordinary circumstances such as national emergencies.
“The rules are already there and they are good,” he said.
He warned that pushing through the proposal despite opposition would further deepen divisions in the chamber.
“If you continue to insist on amending it, again you’re not being a great unifier,” he said.
Constitutional law expert Paolo Tamase of the University of the Philippines College of Law also urged senators to resolve their disagreements internally and avoid involving the judiciary in the dispute.
Tamase said the Senate should determine its own rules without external direction and warned against granting privileges that are not available to ordinary detainees.
He cited a 2020 court ruling that denied former senator Leila de Lima’s request to attend Senate sessions via teleconferencing while in detention.
Tamase said senators should prioritize institutional integrity.
“The Senate’s perspective has become too inward-looking,” he said. “They should think about the nation first.”