The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) formally proclaims Pia Cayetano as senator-elect at the Manila Hotel Tent City in Manila, on Saturday, May 17. (Video courtesy of COMELEC)
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00:00We, the Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections, sitting en banc, as the National Board of Convassers of the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections, do hereby proclaim Pilar Juliana Shram Cayetano, a Senator-elect, to serve for a term of six years, ending on June 30, 2031, in accordance with Section 4, Article 3.
00:30Article 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, given this 17th day of May, 2025, in the City of Manila, Philippines, signed George Erwin M. Garcia, Chairman, Amy P. Ferrolino, Commissioner, Ray E. Bulay, Commissioner, Ernesto Ferdinand P. Maceda, Jr., Commissioner, Nelson J. Sellis, Commissioner, Maria Norina S. Tangaro, Kasingal, Commissioner, Nolly R. Pippo, Commissioner,
00:58Attested by Teopisto E. Elnas, Jr., Executive Director.
01:02Good afternoon, commissioners, fellow senator-elects, and all the guests.
01:32Una sa lahat, gusto ko magpasalamat sa ating mga guro na walang kapagod-pagod na naninilbihan po during this election period sa lahat ng volunteer and come-elect workers and of course the commission headed by Chairman George Garcia.
01:52Salamat sa mga supporters ko na for the fourth time hinalal niyo ako bilang senator sa staff ko na walang kapaguruan na tumutulong sa akin and of course to my family, especially to my mom who's not here right now, but my mom, my brothers, my kids, and of course to God.
02:12Maiksing kwento po.
02:1421 years ago, I was elected as the youngest ever female senator and I entered the Senate with a good name, with a background in law, and a mom of two young girls.
02:30My two young girls are no longer little girls, and I now have another son.
02:37And I worked inspired by the legacy of my late father, Senator Rene Companiero Cayetano, and the public service of my brothers, Alan, Ren, and Lino.
02:47I had the privilege of watching, of observing, and learning from great men and women of the halls of the Senate, the late Miriam Defensor Santiago, the late Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Juan Flaviere, Nene Pimentel.
03:08They're all gone now, but I learned and I continue to keep their memory in my heart.
03:14And so, I know it's now my time to give back, not only to lead by example and to uphold and conduct myself in a manner becoming of a senator, but also to mentor the young.
03:29So I look around, and sino ba yung newly elected and young dito?
03:36Walang iba kundi si Camille Villar.
03:39Siyempre, bata pa si Bam, pero hindi na new si Bam.
03:41Di na, si Kiko naman, who's not here with us, ahead pa yan sa akin.
03:46So si Camille Lang, you're the only one I'll mentor, Camille.
03:48But to the rest of my colleagues, I look forward to engaging with you in healthy and heartfelt debates, to argue with you, and sometimes to fight with you to the point that I will not talk to you that day because maini talaga ang ulo ko dahil hindi tayo nagkakasundo.
04:09Pero hihimayin natin ang isa-isa ang mga batas na hinaharap natin sa mga kababayan natin because they deserve no less.
04:17They deserve no less than people that they elected with different points of view, with different backgrounds, to argue their points, to find what is the best solution.
04:26And not to compromise just because it's easier to compromise, but to find the very best that the Filipino people deserve.
04:34We live now in the age of transformation and the age of innovation.
04:43We live in the time of acceleration, which means napakabilis pumalit ang mga bagay.
04:53Most of us who are elected grew up with a rotary phone, with a typewriter, with a filofax, with a fax machine, with a telegram.
05:06Ask your children or grandchildren sitting here today, do they even know those words?
05:10Telegram means something else today.
05:14I asked my kids if they knew what a filofax was and they did not know.
05:19So we must change.
05:21We must be willing to learn.
05:23We must be willing to accept that things that we grew up with are no longer the things that our young people are growing up with.
05:31And we can only do that if we humble ourselves and begin to learn all over again.
05:37So with that, I will show up with a humble heart.
05:44I know that the Senate will stand up and be the leaders that this country deserves.
05:51So ako po yung nagpapakumbaba muli, nagpapasalamat sa inyong tiwala sa akin, and I am ready to serve my fourth term.
