Pangilinan: Minority bloc wants Gatchalian as next Senate prexy

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Saturday said that the new Senate minority bloc is endorsing Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to be the new Senate president, noting that even current Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said he would vote for him.

This statement came after almost two weeks after the Senate leadership changed, where Cayetano ousted Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, with 13 votes for him, 11 for Sotto, and two abstentions. 

“We, of the SB-11 or Solid Bloc 11, all want Senator Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian to become Senate President,” Pangilinan said in a statement. 

READ: Gatchalian says he’s ready if elected Senate president

Pangilinan then described Gatchalian as “competent, steady, and fair,” emphasizing that his capability to lead is proven during the deliberations of the 2026 national budget.

Gatchalian served as the chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, before he was replaced by Sen. Mark Villar just this week. 

With Gatchalian’s former stint as finance chairperson, Pangilinan said that he can protect the public funds and ensure that they will be allocated to where they are needed. 

“In realpolitik, he can unite a broader, reform-oriented Senate that is more balanced, more accountable, and acceptable even to some members of the current majority,” Pangilinan said.

The senator also shared that “[e]ven current Senate President Cayetano has said he might vote for Senator Win as Senate president.”

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Saturday echoed Pangilinan’s statements that Gatchlian is qualified to lead the Senate and have a “united front” against all issues.

He also said that Gatchalian helped promote transparency for the 2026 national budget. 

“He is capable, qualified and prepares for his work. In all the committee hearings he attended or presided over, he knew what he was talking about and he was prepared,” Lacson said in an interview with DZMM.

“So we see him as eminently qualified to become the Senate president of the 20th Congress at least,” he remarked.

Lacson said that it is “non-negotiable” for the Senate minority bloc to restore the Senate’s integrity following the recent incidents in the upper chamber.

“Never in my memory as a senator have I seen the House of Representatives enjoying better public perception than the Senate,” he observed.

In an interview on Friday, Gatchalian expressed that he is ready to assume the role, saying that his 10-year experience in the upper chamber has prepared him for it.

He also said that the Senate should focus on how to fix its dignity after the recent events that transpired.

“That’s why the thing we have to do is to fix the dignity and image of the Senate. It really took a hit. We can’t deny that,” Gatchalian said in an interview with dzMM. 

“And we should hold accountable people behind the incidents, maybe one of the ugliest marks on the Senate history is that shooting incident,” he stressed.

“And now, information is coming out and it is becoming clearer what happened. People should be held accountable,” he pointed out.

READ: DOJ orders NBI, PNP: Arrest Bato dela Rosa

On the day the Senate leadership changed, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was placed under Senate custody amid his possible arrest in connection with his alleged role in the past administration’s war on illegal drugs. 

Last May 13, chaos ensued after gunshots were heard inside the Senate premises.

Suspended Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca earlier admitted that he fired the first warning shot against an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stationed at the Government Service Insurance System building. 

Cayetano also confirmed that dela Rosa left the Senate premises around 2:30 a.m. of the next day.

As the former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s whereabouts remain unknown, the Department of Justice on Thursday instructed the PNP and NBI to enforce the arrest warrant against him.

Last May 11, the International Criminal Court publicly confirmed the arrest warrant against dela Rosa.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said it found reasonable grounds to believe that dela Rosa was individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder under article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute, which were allegedly committed between July 3, 2016 and the end of April 2018, during which no less than 32 persons were killed. /das /apl