Did Duterte and the PDP-Laban betrayed Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano?

Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel Jr. was unanimously elected as Senate President of the 17th Congress. 20 senators sign the resolution electing the President of PDP-Laban, Duterte's political party as the new Senate leader. What happened to Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano? Was he betrayed and became a victim to Philippine politics?

Senator Allan Peter Cayetano, President Rodrigo Duterte's running mate is a no show in the first session of the Philippine Senate today. It is now known whether he accepts what unfolds in the senate of that he is indeed frustrated on the turn of events.

It is a weird super majority in the Senate of the Philippines. Liberal Party and UNA joins the ruling PDP-Laban to form the majority in the Senate. The staunch detractors of President Rodrigo Duterte are now his allies and are part of the majority while the one that had been with him throughout the campaign became insignificant.

What happened to Senator Allan Peter Cayetano?

Cayetano is part of the Nationalista Party. This is the same party of Vice Presidential candidates Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Sen. Bongbong Marcos. He supported Duterte all the way and in fact had been depending the president throughout the campaign.

It would not be a surprise if Duterte endorsed Cayetano as the next Senate President, however, a different scenario happened. Sen. Koko Pimentel instead decided to run for the position and compete with Cayetano. Why did Pimentel decided to contest the position instead of endorsing his President's vice president? What was his agenda? Is it because they belong to the same party and Cayetano was an outsider?

The Senate Supermajority

Looking at the photo I cannot believe myself. How could it be that staunch Duterte detractors like Sen. Bam Aquno, Sen. Tito Sotto, Sen. and former Presidential candidate Grace Poe, and Sen. Gregorio Honasan among others are part of the majority block. They all voted for Pimentel and ditch Cayetano.

If you look closely, you can also see Sen. Nancy Binay as part of the Senate Majority. We are wondering if this majority is really supportive of the President or if they just form the block in order to have a say and a chairmanship in the 17th Congress.

Cayetano is a strong believer of President Duterte compared to Sen. Pimentel. Pimentel might be the better person for those who dislike Duterte because he will be more than willing to stand against the president than a yes man like Cayetano.

Did you see Sen. Leila de Lima in the majority? Well if you do then that is another surprise because she said she will be joining the minority.

Senate Committee Chairmanship for the 17th Congress

Would Cayetano still be the chairman for the Blue Ribbon Committee? We never know. Here are the chairman of various committees as of this writing courtesy of Rappler.com.

Agriculture and Food – Francis Pangilinan
Education – Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV
Energy – Sherwin Gatchalian
Environment – Cynthia Villar
Finance – Loren Legarda
Rules – Vicente "Tito" Sotto III
Public Services – Grace Poe
Labor, Employment & Human Resources Development – Joel Villanueva
Public Order and Dangerous Drugs – Panfilo Lacson
Ways and Means – Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara
Justice and Human Rights – Leila de Lima
Health and Demography – Risa Hontiveros
National Defense and Security – Gregorio Honasan
Trade and Industry – Juan Miguel Zubiri

So in the end Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano had to be contented with everything that transpired. DO YOU THINK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM IS RIGHT? Let us know your views.

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