It should focus on who can best implement reforms to address poverty, said Sen. Francis Pangilinan, one of the three senators eyeing the top Upper Chamber post.

He stressed the need to raise the level of the Senate presidency contest to solving the ills of the country, such as poverty, corruption, and injustice. “Our leaders must be willing to experiment and to take risks. We need creativity, energy, and dynamism in our approach to ensuring reforms are initiated and completed,” he said.

Pangilinan’s fellow Liberal Sen.Franklin Drilon and Nacionalista Party president Sen.Manuel Villar Jr. are also seeking the support of fellow senators to be elected successor of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on July 26, the opening of the 15th Congress.

“While numbers are essential in a democracy where majority rules, and is thus necessary in the race for the Senate Presidency, it should not simply be about who can get the numbers, but more so about the brand of leadership necessary to bring our nation towards a new direction,” Pangilinan  said.