MANILA – Newly installed Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III wasted no time in shaking up key committee assignments, ousting Sen. Rodante Marcoleta from the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and handing the chairmanship to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.
“He is not a member of the majority. The Blue Ribbon is reserved for the majority,” Sotto said, stressing that the post belongs exclusively to senators aligned with the majority bloc.
The move came just hours after Sotto succeeded Sen. Francis Escudero as Senate president, and notably on the heels of Marcoleta’s hearing where contractors Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya implicated lawmakers and government officials in corruption tied to flood control projects.
When asked if senators had already agreed to Lacson’s takeover, Sotto replied in the affirmative.
Alongside the committee shake-up, Sotto announced that Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian will stay on as chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, while Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has been elected as the new majority leader, replacing Sen. Joel Villanueva.
Lacson, who also chairs the Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, was earlier chosen as Senate President Pro Tempore, succeeding Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Sotto clarified that the Duterte bloc was not part of the negotiations that led to the leadership changes, but emphasized that they remain welcome to join the majority. He added that he has yet to designate a new minority leader./PN
