MANILA, Philippines – If he had his way, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III should have talked to their 4 Liberal Party (LP) colleagues first.

Recto said this on Tuesday, February 28, when asked what he thinks about the majority bloc’s decision to strip 4 LP allies of their Senate committee chairmanships on Monday, February 27. (READ: 15 senators planned LP ouster in Pacquiao’s house)

Recto, an LP member, was previously part of the minority bloc before he replaced Senator Franklin Drilon as Senate President Pro-Tempore.

He said that as part of the minority, he had nothing to do with what happened.

“Now, if I had my way, if I were the Senate President at that time, at may problema with the members of the majority, sasabihin ko na lang sana kay Senator Drilon na I think we cannot work together, mag-resign na lang kayo. Ganoon na lang sana,” Recto told reporters.

(Now, if I had my way, if I were the Senate President at that time, and there are problems with members of the majority, I would have talked to Senator Drilon and told him, I think we cannot work together, so just resign. That’s what Senator Pimentel should have done.)

“[Para] hindi na umabot sa ganoon (So that it did not have to end that way),” said Recto, referring to the Senate reorganization. (READ: Pangilinan hits Pimentel: LP did not ‘hamper’ Senate agenda)

Lost independence

Minority senator Antonio Trillanes IV, for his part, said Pimentel should have stood his ground. Trillanes shared the LP’s claim that the Senate has lost its independence.

“Obviously, nawala ang independence ng Senado. Nadidiktahan siya ng kagustuhan ng iba’t-ibang senador na nakadikit kay President [Rodrigo] Duterte. So it’s sad,” Trillanes said.

(Obviously, the Senate has lost its independence. He was dictated upon by other senators close to President Duterte. So it’s sad.)

“Bahala na lang siya kung ganyan ang patakbo niya ng Senado. Tatamaan din siya later on. Remember, itong mga nagdidikta sa kanya, hindi naman siya pinili in the first place, so wala siyang loyalty na maaasahan diyan sa mga ‘yan,” Trillanes added, referring to senators who supposedly originally backed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano for Senate president.

(It’s up to him if that’s how he wants to run the Senate. It will also hit him later on. Remember, those who are dictating on him did not even choose him in the first place, so he cannot expect any loyalty from them.)

The LP earlier reminded Pimentel they gave him 6 votes when he ran against Cayetano for the top Senate post. (READ: Palace denies hand in ouster of LP senators)

Recto recruited for ‘purely’ legislative purpose?

Recto said he was only approached and informed of the plan just before Monday’s Senate session. He said 17 senators voted for him to be the 2nd highest leader of the chamber.

Asked why he shifted to the majority, the senator said he was only recruited for “purely” legislative purposes.

“I was recruited to join [the] majority to help craft legislation basically and help with [the] legislative agenda of the administration, of the Senate particularly, as well. Read my lips: purely legislative,” Recto said.

He said he would continue to “fiscalize” the administration despite being in the majority – one of the issues raised against the LP bloc in the chamber.

He added that he would continue to oppose extrajudicial killings: “Of course. Do convictions change?”

“When you improve legislation, you have to present an alternative, right? Kung ano ang ginagawa ko as minority leader, ganoon pa rin naman ‘yun eh (Whatever I did as minority leader, I will continue doing),” Recto said. – Rappler.com