Manny Villar elected Senate president anew

Maverick Sen. Manuel Villar has been elected Senate President on a 15-7 vote, against opposition Sen. Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. The 22 senators held a nominal voting, even as the 23rd senator, Antonio Trillanes IV, who is detained on coup charges, failed to attend the session Monday. Villar won on the combined votes of administration and some opposition senators. He was nominated by Sen. Pia Cayetano, who ran in 2004 under the pro-administration Lakas-NUCD party. Cayetano's brother, Alan Peter, is a neophyte senator who ran under the Genuine Opposition ticket. The Cayetanos are members of the Nacionalista Party headed by Villar. Apart from the two Cayetanos, other senators who voted for Villar were Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, Richard Gordon, Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, Manuel "Lito" Lapid, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr, and Juan Miguel Zubiri. Pimentel voted for Villar in a customary swap of votes with a rival candidate. Those who voted for Pimentel were Senators Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Rodolfo Biazon, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Loren Legarda, Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, and Manuel "Mar" Roxas II. Villar voted for Pimentel. Pimentel was nominated by Legarda, the May 2007 elections topnotcher and a returning senator. She used to belong to the Lakas-NUCD party, but joined the opposition when she became the runningmate of the late Fernando Poe Jr in the May 2004 presidential elections. Legarda won under the GO ticket in the last elections. The 24-member Senate has been trimmed to 23 – Alfredo Lim vacated his Senate seat following his election as mayor of Manila. - GMANews.TV