MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile refuses to be cajoled into resigning his post amid dire forecasts of a failure of elections on May 10.

Enrile, who laughed at calls for him to quit, said it would be better to wait for the result of the polls to find out if the elections would actually fail.

"Akin, ok yun, pero antayin natin na matapos ang araw ng halalan sa Mayo 10 para tiyak natin na alam natin na may failure of elections (It would better if they wait for the results of the May 10 polls and learn if there is a failure of elections)," he said.

If there is actual total failure of elections, an event that Enrile believes highly unlikely to occur, he said he would call a caucus after May 10 to allow the Senate to choose a new Senate President.

"Kung mangyari man ito, may halos 50 araw pa mula May 11 hanggang June 30 para magpatwag ng panibagong halalan," he added.

Those calling for Enrile's resignation, among them Senators Francis Pangilinan and Edgardo Angara, prefer to have a Senate president whose term lasts until 2013.

Enrile is seeking reelection on May 10, and his term ends on June 30.

Angara's and Pangilinan's terms end on 2013.

The other senators whose terms end on 2013 are: Liberal Party standard-bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Joker Arroyo, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Vice Presidential candidate Loren Legarda, Antonio Trillanes, Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manny Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Under the Constitution, the Senate president is tasked with forming a caretaker government if no president and vice president are elected in the May 10 polls.

If there is no Senate president who can be acting president, then the task falls on the House Speaker, who is fourth in the line of succession.

Fears have been raised that all four vital positions would be rendered vacant if there is a failure of elections.

However, such a leadership vacuum could be avoided if senators make sure they have a Senate president by June 30, according to UP College of Law Dean Marvic Leonen. -- report from Lynda Jumilla, ABS-CBN News