Drilon elected as minority leader following Senate shakeup

Senator Franklin Drilon on Tuesday was elected as the new Senate minority leader, following his ouster as Senate President Pro Tempore the day before.

Drilon was nominated by fellow Liberal Party (LP) member Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV.

Aquino, for his part, was elected as assistant minority leader.

Senator Francis Pangilinan will take over Drilon’s chairmanship of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments. 

The new development was a result of the Senate reorganization following the ouster of LP members from their key posts.

Drilon was replaced as Senate President Pro Tempore by former Minority Leader Ralph Recto during Monday’s plenary session.

Senate committee on agriculture chair Pangilinan was replaced by Senator Cythia Villar, Senate committee on education chair Aquino by Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, and Senate committee on health chair Risa Hontiveros by Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito.

Drilon, Pangilinan, and Aquino are all members of the former ruling party, LP, while Hontiveros is a member of Akbayan party-list, a close ally of LP.

Following their ouster, the said senators moved to the minority bloc.

The minority group is now composed of Drilon, Pangilinan, Aquino, Hontiveros, and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Senator Leila de Lima has also manifested that she will be amember of the minority bloc. De Lima is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center over drug charges. — RSJ, GMA News