Senate names new committee chairpersons, members in special session

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

MANILA – The Senate on Wednesday reconstituted key committees and elected members to constitutional bodies during its special session, after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was formally elected Senate President.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said some committee chairpersons had been elected on June 3, but the chamber still needed to complete committee chairships and memberships to allow pending legislative work to proceed.

The Senate first constituted the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, or the Blue Ribbon Committee, with 17 regular members and three ex-officio members, reflecting an 11-9 majority-minority ratio.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo was named Blue Ribbon chairperson, while Senators Francis Pangilinan and Panfilo Lacson were designated as vice chairpersons. Zubiri said the committee membership would cover almost all senators, subject to the prescribed limit under the rules.

“All members, actually 17 members po ang membership ng Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, the Blue Ribbon Committee (The Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, the Blue Ribbon Committee, actually has 17 members),” Zubiri said.

Among the major committee posts approved were Tulfo as chairperson of the committees on energy and social justice; Pangilinan as chairperson of the committees on constitutional amendments, justice and agriculture; Sen. Bam Aquino as chairperson of the committees on trade, basic education and science and technology; and Sen. Risa Hontiveros as chairperson of the committees on health and women and children.

The Senate also named Sen. JV Ejercito as chairperson of the committees on finance and local government; Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III as chairperson of the national defense and ethics committees; Zubiri as chairperson of the foreign relations and rules committees; Lacson as chairperson of the ways and means committee; Sen. Raffy Tulfo as chairperson of the public services and migrant workers committees; Sen. Manuel Lapid as chairperson of the games and amusements committee; and Sen. Joel Villanueva as chairperson of the higher education and labor committees.

Ejercito was designated vice chairperson of the committees on energy, agriculture, health, women and children, public services, local government, higher education, labor, and national defense, while Aquino was named vice chairperson of ways and means and public services.

The chamber also elected Lacson, Zubiri, Villanueva, Hontiveros, Sotto, Raffy Tulfo, and Ejercito as members of the Commission on Appointments.

Senators Aquino, Pangilinan, Lapid, and Francis Escudero were elected members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal, while Pangilinan was designated as the Senate representative to the Judicial and Bar Council.

Zubiri was also authorized to keep his deputy majority leaders, with Ejercito elected as senior deputy majority leader and Villanueva as deputy majority floor leader.

The motions were approved without objection as the Senate moved to proceed with third reading votes and other measures on the special session agenda.

This article is republished from PNA.