Erwin Tulfo or Pia Cayetano as blue ribbon chair? Sotto says it has yet to be discussed

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Friday said that it has yet to be determined who will be the permanent chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, following the resignation of Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson from the post.

During the plenary session, Sotto formalized the designation of Tulfo as the acting chairperson of the committee as he is its vice chairman.

Sotto said that the blue ribbon committee will hold a meeting once Tulfo returns to the country after his official trip abroad, and then they will discuss the chairmanship as Senator Pia Cayetano also expressed interest on it.

“Meeting muna. So do’n, pwede namin i-discuss further ano ‘yung mga possibilities,” the Senate President said in an ambush interview.

(We’ll hold a meeting first. There, we can further discuss the possibilities.)

Asked if Cayetano has the upper hand because of seniority and she already led the panel before, Sotto said, “We will have to ask the committee to discuss that. Mas mabuting hindi ako ang solong magdesisyon no’n (It’s better if I don’t decide that by myself).”

Tulfo, a neophyte senator, earlier welcomed his designation as the acting chairperson of the powerful blue ribbon committee, hoping that the panel will soon find a permanent chairman.

Cayetano, meanwhile, said she is also considering the possibility of being the chairperson of the committee again—which she chaired from January 2024 to June 2025, under the 19th Congress.

Cayetano, a lawyer, is one of the five candidates earlier identified by Sotto to possibly replace Lacson as committee chairman, along with Senators Kiko Pangilinan, JV Ejercito, Raffy Tulfo, and Risa Hontiveros.

Pangilinan, Ejercito, and Raffy Tulfo have already turned down the offer.

Lacson on Monday resigned as blue ribbon committee chairman, citing the dissatisfaction of other senators on the "direction" of the legislative inquiry on the alleged anomalous flood control projects for his resignation. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News