Chiz chides ‘oppositionists’ over Senate leadership pick

Wala akong problema kung maging Senate President si Villar (to tell you the truth, siya ang first choice ko), as long as kontrolado ng Opposition ang senado. But the truth is that Villar has struck a deal with the admin, and you can't disregard the fact that there are more administration senators voting for him than Opposition. So MALAKI talaga ang utang ng loob ni Villar sa admin.

So expected ang quid pro quo diyan. At yan ang nakakasuka.

From the Tribune:

The rift between the warring opposition senators continues and with less than a week before they finally come face-to-face to start performing their tasks, it is likely to reach the boiling point before or after electing their Senate president.

Newly proclaimed Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday affirmed earlier reports on his intention to support Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. in his bid for the Senate presidency, along with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

He lashed back at some of his colleagues in the opposition who accused him of “joining” the administration after winning the May senatorial elections, saying the race to the Senate presidency is a matter of personal choice on a certain personality, not on issues where clearly the lines are drawn as to who are with the administration or not.

“It’s a personal commitment given because he (Villar) was the incumbent, he ran with us in GO (Genuine Opposition) and at the time, Sen. (Aquilino) Pimentel (Jr.) gave no indication he was running and I cannot and will not turn back on the word I already gave,” Escudero told reporters in an interview.

He said Cayetano, also a GO candidate, agreed to support Villar.

Again, no problem with his Villar choice. But if Villar wins in THIS MANNER, malamang mas malaki ang say ng admin senators sa issues at agenda ng senado kaysa sa mga kontra administration.

So disagree rin ako kay Kuya Manuel nung sinabi niyang:

I do think critics of Senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano are being unfair, or at least, the critics who also claim they want a political system that has an electorate that votes for parties and not personalities, and officials who act according to party loyalty and platform. Cayetano is a Nacionalista Party member and his party chief is Manuel Villar Jr. So he must go in the direction his party leader points to.

Escudero is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, itself a spin-off from the Nacionalista Party, and his party has stood foursquare by the side of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo all these years. At the end of the day, Escudero, as a good party man, must stand where his party chooses to stand: beside the President. If he felt uncomfortable with this ultimate alignment, he would obviously have left his party by now. And he hasn’t.

Well, let me say that I voted for GO because I don't want the admin to become the majority. So paano na yan? But I blame escudero and cayetano less, and Villar more. Obviously, hindi sya marunong sumunod sa USAPAN.