STATEMENT OF SEN. ANTONIO "SONNY" F. TRILLANES IV

Mr. President & my esteemed colleagues;

Ladies & gentlemen:

Good afternoon!

The recent realignment and change in leadership at the Senate has brought me into a quandary.

While I consider myself as a member of the political opposition, having been elected by our people as a part of the Genuine Opposition (GO), I can see that there are respected members of the opposition on both the side of the new majority and the new minority.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to the distinguished minority floor leader, the HON. AQUILINO "NENE" PIMENTEL, JR., for having guided me and watched over me during the past year and a half. That is why my initial decision was to stick it out with the minority with him. I am equally indebted to the former Senate President, the HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, because despite the fact that he was with the old majority, he reached out to me and kept his door open to me despite my difficult circumstances.

I respect the decision of the majority of our colleagues in bringing about this change of leadership at the Senate. I look forward to working with the new leadership headed by the new Senate President, the HON. JUAN PONCE ENRILE.

Going back to the issue at hand, after careful reflection and consideration of the circumstances, I have decided to take an "independent" stance at the Senate, like our esteemed colleague, SEN. BENIGNO "NOYNOY" AQUINO III. This way, I believe I will be able to best serve our constituents by being able to continue working with all of our colleagues regardless of party or political affiliation and to vote on vital issues in accordance with the dictates of my conscience sans any partisan political consideration.

I humbly request the leadership and the records of the Senate to take note of and reflect this position.

Thank you and a pleasant day to everyone.