Senator Juan Ponce Enrile may end up becoming the next Senate President after all if no one from the two contending candidates — Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Manuel “Manny” Villar, Jr. — will be able to muster the required number of votes in the race for the Senate Presidency.

So don’t count the old man out yet, as Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said the most senior member of the Senate might get the support of their colleagues to be the Senate leader in the 15th Congress.

Zubiri, in an interview, admitted that the race has become tighter and even wider, reaching overseas as both camp struggle to woo their colleagues to support their candidate. Usually, juicy committee chairmanship positions accompany such talks. 

He confirmed that Sen. Jinggoy Estrada even followed Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. in the United States to discuss the matter.

“Noong kinausap ko si Bong (Revilla) (sa telepono) nandoon si Jinggoy (When I talked to Bong over the phone, Jinggoy was there," Zubiri said during an interview with reporters.

Estrada is perceived to be backing Pangilinan’s candidacy and wants Revilla to follow suit.

Revilla and Zubiri are part of the Enrile bloc, along with fellow senators Manuel Lapid, Jr., Loren Legarda, Vicente Sotto III, and Gregorio Honasan.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago had earlier confirmed that senators supporting Villar’s bid have been meeting outside the country.

Santiago had also expressed confidence that their colleagues would finally “wake up” when Villar takes the helm of the Senate leadership when the 15th Congress opens on July 26.

Zubiri said his bloc will announce on Monday whom they would support for the post. The Enrile bloc has earlier claimed of voting as a bloc representing one-third of the Senate membership.

However, he admitted that the Enrile bloc might experience a fall out should they declare support for Pangilinan.

According to Zubiri, Sotto would not vote for Pangilinan and even Honasan does not want to shift “to a yellow color.”

“But if you give us an alternative, we can be united,” Zubiri said referring to Enrile as the “alternative candidate.”

He also said that even those in the Villar camp are open to supporting Enrile as long as they can “bury the hatchet.”

Enrile had earlier criticized Villar for his alleged involvement in the controversial C-5 road extension project and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) anomaly.

Senators Santiago, Pia Cayetano, Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., and Joker Arroyo, comprise the Villar bloc.

And since both Pangilinan and Villar are obviously having difficulty getting 13 votes, the Senate might just elect an acting senate president until the candidates are able to get the required number of votes.