Escudero, Romualdez still lead Congress but changes loom
The first regular session of the 20th Congress began on Monday with the same leaders from the previous Congress, but alliances are shifting underneath their leadership.
Senate President Francis Escudero garnered 19 or majority of the votes from his fellow senators while his contender Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who held the post during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, was voted by five of his colleagues, including Escudero himself.
Others who voted for Sotto were Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who nominated the former Senate leader, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson and Loren Legarda.
Won’t bow to mob
In his speech after regaining his post, Escudero hinted at the political controversies confronting the Senate, particularly the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte that had been set back on his watch during the 19th Congress.
“We should not and cannot bow to a mob. We will not be cowed by the shrillest of voices,” he said. “We will stand up for what is right, what is just, and what is consistent with the rule of law and our Constitution,” he said.
“That we disagree does not mean that you are right and I am wrong, or that I am right and you are wrong. After all, nobody has a monopoly of good ideas, intentions, and plans for the country. Nor does anyone have a monopoly of love for our country,” he added.
“This is a collective body, and its strength lies in the balance, not in the banging, of that gavel,” Escudero said.
Sotto, Hontiveros
Zubiri, who was ousted by Escudero last year, informed the Senate that Sotto will lead the new minority in the Senate.
“I’ve been a good soldier of this august body since 1992 and I’m always honored by any position entrusted to me by my esteemed colleagues. So I pledge to perform the duties and responsibilities of being the Minority Leader,” Sotto said.
Hontiveros said she had decided to join the minority, saying that her “initial plan of forming an independent bloc will no longer push through.”
“I was not supposed to join the minority when I thought that another set of senators would form the bloc. But now that another bloc will form the minority and another senator will be the minority leader, I became open to their invitation and I decided to join them,” she said at a press conference before the chamber opened its first regular session.
Senators Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and Francis Pangilinan, Hontiveros’ allies especially during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III, provoked surprise as well as criticism with their decision to join the Senate majority. But Hontiveros said there was no betrayal done with their move.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada retained his post as Senate President pro tempore and Sen. Joel Villanueva will serve as majority leader.
‘Assertive’ House minority
The House of Representatives opened the first regular session of the 20th Congress on Monday with the expected reelection of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker. But there were also unexpected shifts in this chamber.
Romualdez won a comfortable 269 votes against 34 abstentions.
But the vote also led to a slightly bigger minority bloc—consisting of 30 members compared with the previous 27 in the 19th Congress—as well as the creation of a small group of “independents” dissatisfied with the Speaker’s leadership.
Lawmakers known for their progressive views and therefore not seen to be allied with Romualdez joined the minority. These are Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, Dinagat Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Albay Rep. Krisel Lagman, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice; Akbayan Representatives Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula; and ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co of the Makabayan bloc.
De Lima said this “larger and more assertive minority bloc in the 20th Congress signals a shift. It reflects a growing public demand for stronger checks and balances, and for leaders who will hold the line, not just go with the tide.”
“For the Marcos Jr. administration, this means it can no longer expect quiet compliance. For Speaker Romualdez, it presents both a challenge and an opportunity: the challenge of navigating a more critical and independent House, and the opportunity to prove that leadership can rise above partisanship,” she said.
Lawmakers who count themselves as independents are Duterte’s son, grandson and nephew—Representatives Paolo and Omar Duterte of Davao City and Harold Duterte of the Pwersa ng Pilipinong Pandagat; Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, an ally of the Dutertes; and Romualdez’s rivals for the speakership, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez.
