Sotto sees ‘problem’ as Senate newbies seek key committees

MANILA, Philipines — Senators are banding together against plans by certain senators-elect to bump off the current chairs of key committees when the 18th Congress sits in July, a situation that Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said was creating a “headache” in the chamber.

Sotto also said Senator-elect Imee Marcos, the outgoing Ilocos Norte governor and daughter of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was likely to get the committees on ways and means and the local government, both headed by Sen. Sonny Angara.

Only Marcos has expressed interest in heading both committees, which Angara was prepared to give up if he got the finance committee, he said.

“Right now, there are probably only two or three committees [that are] really giving us a headache,” Sotto said in a separate interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday.

He later corrected the number to four—the committees on education, justice, blue ribbon and public services.

The education committee is headed by outgoing Sen. Francis Escudero, who was elected governor of Sorsogon. The public services committee is chaired by reelected Sen. Grace Poe.

Sotto earlier said incumbents Sherwin Gatchalian and Joel Villanueva, and returning Sen. Pia Cayetano were interested in heading the education committee.

‘Why should I give it up?’

Sen. Richard Gordon said some of his incumbent and incoming colleagues were after the powerful blue ribbon and justice committees, which he has headed since 2016.

The two Senate committees are traditionally the venues for often high-profile investigations of corruption and other wrongdoings involving public officials.

“Why should I give it up? I have already put so much work into it,” Gordon told reporters. “There’s the equity of the incumbent rule, right? If you’re a newcomer in Senate, unless the [current chair] lets go of the committee, then you can’t have it. There’s seniority.”

Abandoning that rule in the 24-member chamber would only result in a “very unwieldy Senate,” the outspoken senator added.

Building a consensus

Sotto said the dispute over who would chair the committees would be best resolved by building a consensus among the 20 proadministration senators in time for the opening of the next Congress in July.

“If they cannot agree to a consensus … I will toss it to the body. The majority members will have to elect who they think should be the chair of those committees,” he said in a text message to the Inquirer. “The newcomers would want some major committees, [which] are being handled by incumbent senators. That is where the problem lies.”

Gordon said no newbie senator had asked him to relinquish his posts. “But I heard some [rumors],” he said.

Word is circulating in the Senate that Senator-elect Francis Tolentino, President Duterte’s former political affairs adviser, allegedly expressed interest in taking over Gordon’s committees.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III earlier disclosed that Tolentino wanted to head at least six committees when they first met to discuss the possible chairmanships.

There was no immediate comment from Tolentino.

Challenge to newcomers

Gordon said Poe was willing to trade her chairmanship of the public services committee for the blue ribbon.

“[Poe] was nice enough to tell to me … But I did not say I will give it up. I told her during our meeting that I will stay,” he said.

“I also want to head the public services committee, but I think so many things are happening in our country that require the head of the blue ribbon to be more experienced,” Gordon said.

He challenged the incoming senators aspiring to get the chair from his committees “to try to get it.”

“But they should worry that when you don’t respect the traditions in the Senate, it could leave a deep wound,” he warned.

In an interview with dzMM radio, Sotto said he would try to make the new senators realize that they would be the seniors in 2022 and “they would not like what they want to do now to be done to them then.”

Rules uphold seniority

Poe said neophyte senators should abide by the existing rules that upheld seniority and experience in handling key committees.

She confirmed she had been eyeing the blue ribbon committee even before. “Maybe others will not agree with it, but as an independent senator with no political party, I will be impartial,” Poe said.

Poe hoped that the incoming senators would abide by the “equity of the incumbent” principle.

“If the Senate President would be able to explain it to them, I hope this can be resolved and they will accept it,” she said.