Legarda gets 3 Senate committees; Escudero clinches chamber’s plum post

MANILA, Philippines –  Senator  Loren  Legarda will chair three committees in  the Senate, the  most  number  of  committees so far  given to  a senator this  16^th  Congress.

Senate Majority  Leader Alan  Peter  Cayetano  reported on the floor on Wednesday that  Legarda will head  the  committees on environment, on climate change and on cultural  communities.

Senator  Francis  Escudero, on the  other hand,  was   elected  chairman of  the Senate  committee on finance, one of the  powerful  committees  in Congress  that  deliberates  the  national budget, among others.

Senate President Franklin Drilon used to head the finance committee in the15th Congress.

The  committee on education assigned last Tuesday to Escudero will now to go to Senator Pia Cayetano.

Another powerful committee – accountability of public officers and investigations known as blue ribbon committee – was retained to Senator Teofisto Guingona, who wa

Senator Francis Escudero and Senator Loren Legarda. FILE PHOTO

s also elected to head the  committee on peace, unification, and  reconciliation.

Neophyte Senator Juan Edgardo Angara got the chairmanship  of two major committees – the ways and means, and games and amusements.

The electoral reforms and local government committees were retained to Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel Jr. and Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr., respectively.

Aside from the local government committee, Marcos was elected to head the committee on public works.

The committee on cooperatives was retained to Senator Lito Lapid, who will also continue to head the committee on tourism.

Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV will head the committee on government  corporations  and  public  enterprise aside from the committee on defense assigned to him  Tuesday.

The other committee  assignments read on the floor  last Tuesday were the committees on public order and dangerous drugs, and public information which will be headed by Senator  Grace Poe –Llamanzares;  committee on agriculture to be headed by neophyte Senator Cynthia Villar; committee  on  trade to be headed by  another neophyte  Senator  Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino;  and committee on public services, which was retained to Senator  Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

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