Senate committee chairmanships is 98 percent complete – Sotto
MANILA,
July 29 (PNA)-– Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III said on
Wednesday that the assignments of the committee chairmanships is now
almost complete with only the committees on energy and public services
remain in contention.
”More or less its now 98 percent complete,” Sotto said after
a closed-door caucus of the senators belonging to the majority bloc.
Sotto said contenders for the chairmanship of energy
committee are senator Loren Legarda and neophyte senator Teofisto
Guingona Jr. while senator Ralph Recto is interested of taking the
committee on public services from senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr.
”We have already assigned somebody to settle those
contentious committees,” Sotto said.
Sotto said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will announce
on Monday the final list of the committee chairmanships, hoping those
committees in contention will not be decided upon the floor.
”I think everything it okay now. Let’s just wait for the
Senate president to announce all the committee chairmanships on Monday,”
Sotto said.
Before the caucus, Revilla expressed to the media his dismay
when Recto approached him during the 15th Congress joint session last
Monday, inviting Revilla to become members of the public services
committee.
”I was surprised because Senate president Enrile promised me
to retain the public services committee. He (Recto) should have shown
some respect. It hurt me a little bit,” Revilla said.
When asked for comment, Recto claimed that he was not aware
that Revilla was the former chairman of the public services which was
also offered to him by Enrile.
”There is no reason for me to apologize because it was
offered to me by Senator Enrile,” Recto said.
Sotto said the President Aquino’s (Liberal) partymates in
the Senate would mostly like get the chairmanships of the major and
powerful committees like finance, ways and means and even the blue
ribbon.
Senator Franklin Drilon will take the finance committee
while Recto is reportedly to get the ways and means and Francis ‘Kiko’
Pangilinan to the blue ribbon committee.
Sotto said he will temporarily handle the committee on
accounts which was already given to fugitive senator Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson remains in hiding, facing warrant of arrest for his involvement
in the killing of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel
Corbito in 2000.
The Senate has 37 different committees.
Meanwhile, senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago expressed in her
interest to become member of the powerful Commission on Appointments.
Santiago, who filed sick leave due to chronic fatigue,
relayed her intention through a letter to Enrile to join the CA as
“registered candidate of the People’s Reform Party.
In other development, detained senator Antonio Trillanes IV
requested the Senate majority leader to include him in the majority bloc
that catapulted Enrile as the Senate president anew.
Santiago has yet to decide whether she joins the majority or
the minority headed by senator Alan Peter Cayetano. The only two
members of the minority are senator Joker Arroyo and Pia Cayetano.(PNA)
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