Risa to chair anew Senate committee that probed POGO, KOJC

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, a member of the Senate minority, has again been elected chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.

It was the said committee, also under Hontiveros in the 19th Congress, that conducted investigations and exposed the alleged crimes linked to Philippine offshore gaming operations, and the alleged abuses in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ religious group.

This developed as other members of the five-person Senate minority were elected chairpersons of some Senate committees.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who won a new first term as senator in Eleksyon 2025, was elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation. 

Sen. Loren Legarda will also continue to chair the Committee on Culture and the Arts, while Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri will still be the chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs.

Majority bloc members Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa was elected to chair the Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation; and Sen. Mark Villar will chair the Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises.

Hontiveros and Zubiri were also named as the deputy minority leaders, while senators JV Ejercito and Rodante Marcoleta will serve as deputy majority leaders. 

Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was earlier elected as the Senate minority leader, and Senator Joel Villanueva as the Senate majority leader. –NB, GMA Integrated News