Zubiri Heads Senate; Romualdez Is New Speaker As Expected

As he formally assumed the Senate presidency after getting elected by his colleagues on Monday, July 25, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri promised to keep the independence of the chamber and wield its oversight function without encroaching on the powers of the executive branch.

Senators also elected Sen. Loren Legarda as Senate president pro tempore and Sen. Joel Villanueva as majority leader.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III was designated minority leader, as manifested on the floor by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the only other member of the opposition bloc.

Sibling Senators Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano abstained from the elections, declaring themselves as “independents” comprising the independent bloc. This leaves the majority with 20 members.

Also elected was lawyer Renato Bantug Jr. as the Senate secretary.

Zubiri, in his acceptance speech, vowed to lead the chamber fairly, saying he may wield the gavel, but not the power of the Senate as such “is shared by us all, by everyone of you and more so our main responsibility of responding to the needs of the people and respecting their will.”

He said the nation faces “multiple crises – food, fuel, fiscal, the fading faith of our people in our institutions – topped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which will continue to disrupt lives and choke the economy before it can breathe its very last.”

“The Senate will meet these big problems with bold thinking and brave legislation and, most especially, bipartisanship. In this Senate workshop of great ideas, laws will be forged and from which oversight of those who implement or ignore the laws will also be conducted,” Zubiri said.

“And speaking of oversight, we will exercise it not because we want to encroach on the executive branch or emasculate it of its powers,” he added.

He maintained that the exercise of oversight is meant to help the government and President Marcos remedy deficiencies in the delivery of public services and recalibrate ineffective policies.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla raised eyebrows during the election of officers when he manifested after Villanueva was elected that he had abstained from voting for majority leader. He did not elaborate except to say that he has had an “issue” with Villanueva.

He later told reporters he would personally tell Villanueva his reasons for not voting for him.

Villanueva said he was surprised by Padilla’s manifestation. “I have no idea, he has never talked to me… You know here in the Senate, we usually talk to each other before bringing something or anything on the floor,” Villanueva told reporters.

He said as majority leader it is his job to talk with Padilla.

“Part of my job is to make sure that even though we don’t agree on any issue that you’re espousing or I’m espousing, at the end of the day, we just have to respect each other,” he said.

Alan Peter told reporters that he and his sister aim to act as a bridge between the majority and minority senators, as he expects political bickering to worsen as the country continues to face economic hardships.

He said their focus would be on finding ways to reduce prices of basic goods, create more jobs and increase incomes for ordinary Filipinos while exerting effort to reduce partisanship in the chamber.

Meanwhile, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez officially bagged the position of Speaker in the 19th Congress – as expected, with votes from 282 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

“I thank our President Bongbong Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte, my mother who is here, my predecessor, Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, and my family, especially my wife Yedda who is my inspiration,” Romualdez said in his extemporaneous acceptance speech.

Twenty-two lawmakers did not participate in the election for speaker, four abstained and one – Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman – categorically voted “no,” comprising a quorum of 309 House members. There are 316 representatives in the current Congress.

Romualdez also expressed confidence in Marcos’ capability to steer the nation away from the recession brought about by the global health crisis.

“We are confident that with the unity that our President has espoused, we can actually overcome the crippling effects of this pandemic, political differences, or the impacts of the Ukrainian war,” the Leyte congressman said.

“The tasks ahead of us may be seemingly daunting. But our synergy is the seed that will nurture us for the next three years,” Romualdez, a cousin of the President, said.