Incoming Sen. Tito Sotto Assures Public Bloc To Ensure Senate’s Adherence to Rules
TITO SOTTO – The incoming Senator revealed that the Senate will have the “conscience bloc” composed of veteran senators in the 20th Congress.
Currently, at least two (2) senators have expressed their willingness to be the Senate president in the 20th Congress. Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero claimed that he is open to becoming the chamber’s chief again.
Sen. Joel Villanueva previously claimed that Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero is poised to remain in his position as 13 senators allegedly support his lead. However, according to Sen. Migz Zubiri, he hopes for a new Senate President even if Escudero has 13 votes.
Zubiri stressed that he wants a leader who will steer the Senate amid the rough waters. The former Senate President also claimed that when he was the leader of the chamber, he did a “consultative type of leadership” as he held weekly caucuses so not all discussions and fighting will be in the plenary. He stressed that having all discussions may result to a chaotic Senate.
According to former Senate Pres. Migz Zubiri who was the chief of the chamber in the 19th Congress, prior to Escudero, he will vote for incoming Sen. Tito Sotto. He previously claimed that the ‘veteran bloc’ will support Sotto for the Senate presidency.
However, recently, incoming Sen. Tito Sotto announced that there is a new name for their bloc — “conscience bloc”. Based on a report on Inquirer, it was incoming Sen. Ping Lacson who coined the term for their bloc which will be composed of the following:
- Tito Sotto
- Ping Lacson
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
- Loren Legarda
The “conscience bloc” will be composed of veteran senators and they vow to ensure that the Senate follows the rules and procedures in line with the Constitution. The rules and processes under the law became a topic after the Senate’s recent moves over the Articles of Impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.
The Senate impeachment court ruled for the remand of the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives. Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero clarified that the return of Duterte’s impeachment does not mean dismissal or termination of the impeachment case against the Vice President.
However, the decision of the Senate impeachment court did not sit well with some senators and former lawmakers. Sen. Risa Hontiveros stressed that there is no “remand or return” in the Constitution.