STRIPPED of real power in the Senate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano over the weekend compared his political challenges to historical struggles against authoritarian rule, including those of the martyred Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., immediately drawing fire from groups associated with the late senator’s cause.
Speaking on a Facebook livestream, Cayetano, Senate president only in name since the new majority bloc took power on June 3, said meaningful reforms require personal commitment and perseverance.
"We're fighting for truth," Cayetano said, citing efforts to uncover facts related to impeachment proceedings, Senate leadership issues, and alleged anomalies in public spending.
Cayetano compared contemporary political challenges with past struggles against colonial rule, wartime occupation, and authoritarian governance.
He cited the sacrifices of Filipino heroes and opposition figures, including the late former senator Aquino, whose commitment to democratic ideals came at great personal cost.
A significant portion of the livestream focused on disputes surrounding Senate procedures, leadership decisions, and impeachment-related issues.
Cayetano alleged that certain political actors had attempted to alter Senate rules and influence institutional processes — even though it was his bloc that tried to change the rules to allow senators to vote remotely, a move that would have allowed his group mates Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, in hiding to avoid arrest for crimes against humanity, and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, in detention on a plunder charge, to vote on key issues.
While acknowledging that political reform carries risks and sacrifices, he said failing to confront problems today would ultimately impose a greater burden on future generations.
"The Filipino is worth fighting for," he said, altering a phrase associated with Aquino, who said, “The Filipino is worth dying for.”
Cayetano flashed the “Laban” (fight) sign in his video message, turning his thumb and forefinger into a letter “L” — a trademark hand gesture associated with Aquino’s widow, Cory Aquino, who took power after Marcos Sr. fled the country in 1986.
Drawing fire
The August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) on Saturday slammed Cayetano for comparing the Senate’s recent struggles to that of Aquino against the rule of then-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“The delusions of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano know no bounds, as he compared their so-called ‘struggle’ in the Senate to that of the fight of Senator Ninoy Aquino against the Marcos Sr. dictatorship,” ATOM said in a statement.
“While we are in a dilemma whether to laugh or rage, ATOM would like to remind him that first, Ninoy fought against fascism, corruption, and a lack of accountability — qualities evident among their camp's patrons — and second, that they, along with the Marcoses, represent the very nature of the evil which Ninoy fought against,” it added.
The group branded Cayetano’s bloc as trying to present itself as Aquino’s “heirs.”
“It is ironic that this camp, after endorsing and dancing for the Marcoses in 2022, now tries to present itself as Ninoy’s heirs. You are not Ninoy’s heirs — you are enemies of the values he represents. You are not revolutionaries — you are ‘delusionaries,’ a new term coined especially for your lot,” ATOM said.
“We will no longer ask even for a little sense of shame from you, because over the past few weeks you have shown that you have none. Your continued disregard for the law, your thirst for power, and your obstruction of the constitutional process of the impeachment trial only demonstrate that you are unworthy of being compared to Ninoy and to those who fought against the dictator in the past,” the movement added in Filipino.
The protest group reiterated its call for Cayetano to resign as Senate president, days after changes on the Senate website removed him as the chamber’s leader.
“We remain consistent with our call to Cayetano: RESIGN NOW! You have become a disgrace not only to the Senate but to the whole country as well, with your antics reaching the international community,” ATOM said.
“So take your L, not as laban (fight), but instead as lampastangan (disrespect). This is a desecration of the values that Ninoy Aquino and the Filipinos who brought down the Marcos dictatorship fought for,” the group said.
ATOM, named after the date the former senator was assassinated in 1983, was known for its involvement in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Meanwhile, Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino-Dee, grandson of the former opposition leader, told The Manila Times in a Messenger chat, “Sen. Alan once told my mom not to believe what he says on TV. I've benefited a lot from that advice.”
He said Cayetano should just sit down and talk to Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian to solve the Senate’s recent leadership crisis.
“He [Cayetano] should talk things out with Sen. Gatchalian so we can get back to having a functioning Senate,” Aquino-Dee said.
Court resolution
Meanwhile, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, a member of the Cayetano bloc, called on the Supreme Court to definitively resolve the ongoing leadership dispute in the Senate, arguing that the issue carries significant legal and constitutional implications that warrant judicial intervention.
Speaking during the Sa Ganang Mamamayan radio program on Net 25 on June 12, Marcoleta said the Court should serve as the final arbiter in determining the legitimacy of competing claims to Senate leadership.
“The Supreme Court should arbitrate,” Marcoleta said when asked which institution should determine the Senate’s legitimate leadership.
Marcoleta said the recognition by other branches of government, including Malacañang and the House of Representatives, of Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian is insufficient to settle the legal questions surrounding the dispute.
Marcoleta said members of his faction had been reluctant to initiate legal action because they believed their position was already supported by law.
