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MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Sunday suggested that Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano consider stepping down if he could no longer unite the chamber, warning that the deepening rift among senators was already affecting the institution’s ability to perform its constitutional duties, including the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking over dzBB, Pimentel said the Senate needed a “better unifier” amid the escalating dispute between the majority and minority over a proposed amendment to the chamber’s rules that would allow senators to participate and vote remotely during plenary sessions.
“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. “Maybe you realize, ‘I’m not meant for this. I have to step back and give it up for the good of the chamber and not for my own good,’” he said.
READ: Senate minority: ‘We have the rules on our side’
