Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III disputed the claim of neophyte Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa that the majority bloc feels like the minority because they have lost the voting on some important measures.

Sotto said Dela Rosa’s chairmanship of major Senate committees means he’s not treated as a member of the minority bloc.

“That’s his perspective pero hindi pwedeng maging totoo ‘yun. Paano kang naging minority o feeling minority kung lahat ng mga major committees hawak mo? No such thing,” he said.

Sotto said being a member of the majority bloc doesn’t always mean a senator’s position wins. He said the Senate couldn’t be a “Senate of the administration.”

“You debate on your position, kumbinsihin mo ‘yung mga kasama mo tungkol sa position mo. Hindi pwewedeng bulung-bulungan lang tayo, pakatapos boboto tayo at ‘pag hindi nagwagi ang boboto natin ay sumasama ang loob natin,” Sotto said.

Dela Rosa expressed frustration Tuesday (March 3) over the majority bloc’s loss as the Senate adopted a resolution on the Visiting Forces Agreement’s (VFA) termination.

The resolution was adopted by the Senate Monday (March 2) with 12 senators in favor of it, while seven abstained. No one opposed the measure.