Senator Erwin Tulfo on Sunday clarified that he has no personal knowledge regarding any fresh attempts to unseat Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, stating that he only became aware of the rumored leadership change through recent media reports.
Tulfo’s statement follows claims made by Cayetano himself, who earlier alleged that members of the minority bloc were actively communicating with some majority senators to initiate another shakeup in the upper chamber’s leadership.
“Ngayon, wala akong idea kung may kudeta ba. Nababasa ko lang sinasabi ni Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano na may ilang majority na nakausap ng ilang minority,” Tulfo said in a radio interview.
(“Right now, I have no idea if there is a coup. I just read what Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said about some members of the majority being approached by some in the minority.”)
Despite the lingering rumors, the lawmaker expressed that he sees no valid reason to support any calls for Cayetano’s resignation. He emphasized that the newly installed Senate leader deserves an adequate window of time to demonstrate his capability.
“Ngayon ko pa lang makakasama si Sen. Alan Cayetano. In fairness, hindi ko pa nakakasama yan sa Congress or sa Senate. Tapos tatlong araw pa lang siya nagiging SP, wala pa talagang nagagawa. Unfair naman yun sabihin na palitan na si Sen. Alan Cayetano. So I guess I’ll just keep to my self yung observations ko,” Tulfo explained.
(“This is my first time working with Sen. Alan Cayetano. In fairness, I haven’t worked with him before in Congress or in the Senate. Plus, he has only been the SP for three days, nothing has really been done yet. It would be unfair to say that Sen. Alan Cayetano should be replaced. So I guess I’ll just keep my observations to myself.”)
“Pero kung ako talaga tatanungin, siguro bigyan muna natin ng pagkakataon na makita natin kung talagang bagay siya dyan or karapat-dapat siya dyan,” he added.
(“But if you really ask me, perhaps let us first give him a chance so we can see if he is truly a good fit there or if he deserves to be there.”)
Tulfo further noted that his brother, Senator Raffy Tulfo, is similarly unaware of any active movements to alter the current Senate leadership setup, maintaining that no signatures for a change in leadership have been solicited from them.
“Walang nagpapa-pirma sa akin. I can speak for myself. Wala akong pinipirmahan. Baka mamayang gabi. I don’t know. Or bukas ng umaga,” he said.
(“No one is asking me to sign anything. I can speak for myself. I haven’t signed anything. Maybe later tonight. I don’t know. Or tomorrow morning.”)