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Senate ‘supermajority’ picks Tolentino as Blue Ribbon head —Zubiri


The so-called supermajority in the Senate prefers Senator Francis Tolentino to lead the blue ribbon committee despite Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's earlier request, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.

"It's Senator [Francis] "Tol" Tolentino because the group offered it to him from the very beginning and he happily accepted it although with a little bit of hesitation, kasi maraming trabaho 'yan, but we committed to him our support and he already accepted it," Zubiri said when asked about updates on committee chairmanships in the 19th Congress.

"Eh 'yan ang gusto ng majority bloc, they prefer it to be amongst the members of the supermajority. That's how it is," the lawmaker replied when asked about Cayetano's request.

In June, Cayetano said he would join the majority bloc if he will be given the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, explaining that he wants to be a "fiscalizer" in the 19th Congress.

However, Zubiri earlier stated that it is the supermajority's decision to make as the agreement that Tolentino would chair the Blue Ribbon panel had already been cemented.

Even if he wanted to give in to Cayetano's request, Zubiri explained that chairmanships of the Senate panels will be formalized through elections upon the opening of the sessions.

"It's not about really what you want. It's about what the body wants kasi elected namin yan e. All Senate [committee] chairmen will be elected on the floor... kung may ilalagay po ako na chairman d'yan na ayaw naman ng grupo e di rin magiging chairman ng committee. So I have to accede to what the group wants," Zubiri said.

Cayetano weighing options

In a text message to reporters, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said he fully supports Tolentino's chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

"I pray that he will do all he can to make this government truly accountable to the people," Cayetano said.

Right now, Cayetano said he is still weighing his options on joining the majority or the minority bloc in the 19th Congress.

"I will not base my decision on political partisanship. That is precisely why I ran as an independent. Public service is more than that," he said.

"I will join the group that will uphold what is right for the Filipino people and the country. After all, ang tama ay tama, at ang mali ay mali," he added.

"Kung tama, susuportahan at ipagtatanggol ko. Kung Mali, [ay] dapat labanan," he went on.

Alan and his sister, Senator Pia Cayetano are yet to announce whether they will join the so-called supermajority or the minority bloc which is currently composed of Senators Risa Hontiveros and Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.

Two meetings

On Tuesday, Zubiri had two separate meetings with two groups of senators — the group that supports his bid for the Senate presidency and the other group that initially supported Senator Cynthia Villar.

Zubiri met with Villar's group composed of Senators Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, Mark Villar, Robin Padilla, and Tolentino.

The other group include Senators Loren Legarda, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, Sonny Angara, Lito Lapid, Francis Escudero, and Jinggoy Estrada.

Zubiri said he is planning to meet with the Senators Alan and Pia Cayetano this week to tackle the composition of the Senate.

During the meetings, the senator said they tackled the committee chairmanships, vice-chairmanships and memberships, as well as the composition of the Commission on Appointments and the Senate Electoral Tribunal.

"We had a very good meeting last night. Hopefully, the weekend before the [State of the Nation Address] I will call for a supermajority meeting," Zubiri said.

In the same meeting, the lawmaker disclosed his appeal to his colleagues which is to follow the rules and the traditions of the Senate as he declared that he will not tolerate "unruly" and bullies in the chamber.

As of July 6, the proposed committee chairmanships are as follows:

-Angara: Finance. Youth
-Binay: Accounts, Tourism
-Dela Rosa: Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, Special Committee on Marawi City Rehabilitation and Victim's Compensation
-Ejercito: Local Government, Urban Planning Housing and Resettlement
-Escudero: Higher, Technical and Vocational Education
-Estrada: Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development (Domestic Labor), National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation
-Gatchalian: Ways and Means, Basic Education, Arts and Culture
-Go: Health and Demography, Sports
-Lapid: Games and Amusement
-Marcos: Foreign Relations, Cooperatives, Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, Electoral Reforms and People's Participation
-Padilla: Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, Public Information and Mass Media
-Senator Grace Poe: Public Services, Economic Affairs
-Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.: Public Works, Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation
-Tolentino: Blue Ribbon, Science and Technology, Justice
-Senator Raffy Tulfo: Energy, Migrant Workers
-Senator Cynthia Villar: Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change
-Senator Mark Villar: Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies
-Senator Risa Hontiveros: Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality
-Senator Pia Cayetano: Sustainable Development Goals, Innovations and Futures Thinking

2 deputy floor leaders

Zubiri disclosed that they chamber will have two deputy majority floor leader positions in the 19th Congress.

Ejercito was earlier named as one of the deputy majority floor leader. The other senator who will take the post has yet to be named by the senators.

“What we agreed upon is the creation of deputy majority floor leaders. So, there will be a senior deputy majority floor leader...a majority floor leader, dalawang (two) senior deputy majority floor leaders,” Zubiri said.

The two senators who will take the new positions will be tasked to assist Villanueva, who is expected to be the next majority leader, in running the agenda on the Senate floor.

Face-to-face sessions

In the 19th Congress, Zubiri said he discussed with other senators the possibility of full face-to-face Senate sessions, saying that only those who will test positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to infected persons will be exempted from reporting physically at the Senate.

"I think if the kids can go to face-to-face classes, I think we can go to work. Exemption, may exemption lang ‘pag COVID-positive or COVID-exposed. They can do work at home,” he said.

The lawmaker noted the challenges of doing a hybrid session specifically when senators are debating on certain measures.

At the height of the pandemic in May 2020, the Senate had adopted a resolution allowing the conduct of "hybrid" sessions and hearings.

But before the 18th Congress ended, the Senate decided to stop allowing the hybrid set-up for committee hearings and plenary sessions.—LDF, GMA News

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