AN orchestrated move by the minority bloc along with those in the majority bloc in the Upper Chamber of Congress resulted to the removal of Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero as President and the reinstallation as Senate President of erstwhile Minority Leader Sen. Vicente ‘Tito Sen’ Sotto III.
The move immediately changed the composition of the Senate’s top leadership, chairmanship of key committees and those now part of the majority and minority blocs.
Escudero, who replaced Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate leader in the 19th Congress, also defeated Sotto when the 20th Congress opened last July. Prior to this, Zubiri had replaced Sotto as Senate President.
With the pretext that the chamber’s credibility is at stake after Escudero and erstwhile Majority Leader Sen. Joel Villanueva were tagged in the multi-billion flood control project scandal, Sotto got the nod of 15 senators, from the 24-members chamber when the plenary opened its session on Monday, September 8 and a motion was tabled declaring the position of Senate President “vacant.”
Those who backed Sotto and are now the new majority are, Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, Zubiri, Loren Legarda, brothers, Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, sibling Mark and Camille Villar, Bam Aquino, Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Lito Lapid, Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian, and Risa Hontiveros.
The new minority is now composed of Escudero, Estrada, Villanueva, Marcoleta, Bato dela Rosa, Alan Peter Cayetano, Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla.
Senator Lacson is the new Senate President Pro Tempore while Zubiri is the new Senate Majority Leader, with Sen. JV Ejercito as the Deputy Majority Leader.
Lacson, according to Sotto, would also get the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbons Committee, replacing Senator Rodante Marcoleta, who is from the camp of Escudero in the previous majority.
The Blue Ribbon has been spearheading the investigation of the flood control project scandal.
Sotto said other committee chairmanships would be announced after the caucus of the new majority bloc.
Meanwhile, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is the new Senate Minority Leader with Marcoleta and Villanueva as Deputy Minority Leader.
Despite the usual denial of Palace spokesperson Atty. Claire Castro, the Senate coup has the clear imprimatur of President Marcos Jr.
Castro said the President, speaking while on official visit to Cambodia, has expressed his “full support” to the change in the Senate leadership.
“The President said he cannot interfere with what the senators want, who they want to lead, that is their choice, so whoever the senators choose now as their leader or president, the President will support that,” Castro said.