'Duterte is my president,' says Pia Cayetano despite SET vote for Poe

Despite voting in favor of Senator Grace Poe as part of the Senate Electoral Tribunal, Senator Pia Cayetano on Monday reaffirmed her support of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's candidacy for president next year.

Duterte said he is running for presidency after the SET voted to junk the disqualification case against Poe filed by Rizalito David. Cayetano was one of five senator-members of the SET who favored Poe.

Previously saying he didn't want to pursue the country's top post, Duterte said the decision spurred him to run because he did not believe that Poe, a foundling, complied with the Constitutional requirement to be president.

Curiously, Cayetano's younger brother Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has been linked to Duterte as a possible running mate.

Despite her difference of opinion with the mayor, Cayetano said she remains behind Duterte.

"In connection with queries on my position regarding the petition filed against Senator Grace Poe before the SET, my decision is based on my appreciation of the case. It is NOT to be equated with WHO I am supporting for the Presidency," she said in a statement.

"Mayor Rody Duterte has been, and always will be, my candidate for President. And now that he has declared his intention, I am beyond happy," she added.

"We may have different opinions on the SET issue but I have the utmost respect for him and my brother, Senator Alan Cayetano. I believe they can do great things for this country and I will passionately campaign for them for President and Vice President."

Her brother Alan, meanwhile, said that she along with Senators Cynthia Villar, Vicente Sotto III, Loren Legarda and Bam Aquino voted to junk the case to be in good graces with Poe, who leads recent presidential preference surveys.

He added that he did not try to convince his sister to vote against Poe.

"We never exert, we never dictate to each other," he said.

He said that being siblings doesn't mean he and the lady senator "will always vote the same, you will vote based on your conscience." —JST, GMA News