EVEN before the 20th Congress convenes, there is talk of a major reorganization in the Senate with the entry of a new set of senators and the emergence of a five-person “Duterte bloc.”
Reelected Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa s aid in the aftermath of the midterm elections, there are now at least five senators allied with former president Rodrigo Duterte — a group that includes himself, Sens. Robinhood Padilla and Bong Go, Imee Marcos and senator-elect Rodante Marcoleta.
Senator-elect Tito Sotto PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
While he said they had “no problem” with Senate President Francis Escudero, he admitted that some senators have received text messages about a possible revamp in the Senate leadership.
“Our bloc still has to discuss this,” he said.
“We can’t make any final decision right now because we’re still waiting for Robin (Padilla) who is still abroad,” Dela Rosa said on Tuesday.
This early at least one name emerged as the possible replacement of Escudero: senator-elect Vicente Sotto III, who has expressed his willingness to lead the Senate again, if his supporters can deliver enough votes to oust Escudero.
Sotto, 76, was Senate president from 2018 to 2022.
Aside from Escudero, 11 other senators will continue their respective terms in the 20th Congress: Alan Peter Cayetano, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, Padilla, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Mark Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Senate President Chiz Escudero PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
The incoming senators in the 20th Congress are reelected senators Pia Cayetano, Ronald Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, and Imee Marcos; returning senators Bam Aquino, Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, Sotto; and newcomers Erwin Tulfo, and Camille Villar.
Dela Rosa said aside from Sotto, Alan Peter Cayetano and Zubiri are capable of leading the Senate. “I’m sure there are other [senators] who have the ambition [to become Senate president],” he said.
Pressed whether Alan Peter would be jolining the Duterte bloc, Dela Rosa said, “Yes. We can include him. But, we still have to talk to him. If he opts to join us, then, that’s good.”
Cayetano ran for vice president as Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 presidential elections, but he lost to Leni Robredo.
Leadership in the Senate will take on an extra significance in the incoming Congress, given the coming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, where senators will sit as judges. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote or 16 senators.
