MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was elected Senate president pro tempore on Wednesday.
Sotto was elected during the Senate special session, attended by 13 senators.
In the same session, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was named the Senate president, vacating his previous position as Senate president pro tempore.
Joining Gatchalian and Sotto in attending the session were Majority Leader Migz Zubiri, Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Francis Escudero, JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Lito Lapid and Raffy Tulfo.
In the afternoon session, Minority Sens. Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Camille Villar and Bong Go attended the plenary.
Legarda later elected Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as the minority leader on behalf the bloc, which was approved.
READ: Alan Cayetano concedes Gatchalian camp has numbers
Named as members of the Commission on Appointments were Lacson, Sotto, Zubiri, Villanueva, Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo and Ejercito.
Also elected in the CA are Legarda, Marcos, Go, Sens. Rodante Marcoleta, Mark Villar, and Jinggoy Estrada.
Ejercito and Villanueva were given the positions of deputy majority leaders.
More Senate committees were also designated chairpersons and members.
The updated list of members and heads of the chamber’s panels is as follows:
Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon)
- Chairperson: Erwin Tulfo; Vice Chairpersons: Pangilinan, Lacson; Members: All senators but Escudero
Senate Committee on Accounts
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform
- Chairperson: Pangilinan; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito, Members: Hontiveros, Aquino, Lapid, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, Escudero, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Basic Education
- Chairperson: Aquino; Members: Ejercito, Hontiveros, Lapid, Pangilinan, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes
- Chairperson: Pangilinan; Members: Hontiveros, Lacson, Ejercito, Aquino, Lapid, Escudero
Senate Committee on Economic Affairs
- Chairperson: Hontiveros; Vice Chairperson: Lacson; Members: Aquino, Pangilinan, Ejercito, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation
- Chairperson: Sotto; Vice Chairperson: Hontiveros; Members: Aquino, Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Pangilinan, Ejercito, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Energy
- Chairperson: Erwin Tulfo, Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Hontiveros, Aquino, Pangilinan, Lapid, Raffy Tulfo, Lacson, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Environment
- Chairperson: Raffy Tulfo; Vice Chairperson: Escudero; Members: Erwin Tulfo, Pangilinan, Lapid, Aquino, Lacson, Ejercito, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges
- Chairperson: Sotto; Vice Chairperson: Pangilinan; Members: Raffy Tulfo, Lacson, Ejercito
Senate Committee on Finance
- Chairperson: Ejercito; Vice Chairperson: Pangilinan, Hontiveros, Aquino, Villanueva, Lacson; Members: All senators but Gatchalian and ex-officio members
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
- Chairperson: Zubiri; Members: All senators but Lapid
Senate Committee on Games and Amusement
- Chairperson: Lapid; Vice Chairperson: Erwin Tulfo; Members: Escudero, Lacson, Raffy Tulfo, Ejercito, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Health and Demography
- Chairperson: Hontiveros; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Go, Aquino, Pangilinan, Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Lacson
Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education
- Chairperson: Villanueva; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Aquino, Pangilinan, Raffy Tulfo, Escudero
Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights
- Chairperson: Pangilinan; Vice Chairperson: Lacson; Members: Hontiveros, Aquino, Villanueva, Lacson, Ejercito
Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development
- Chairperson: Villanueva; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Aquino, Hontiveros, Pangilinan, Escudero
Senate Committee on Local Government
- Chairperson: Ejercito; Vice Chairperson: Lacson; Members: Raffy Tulfo, Pangilinan, Hontiveros, Villanueva, Lapid, Aquino
Senate Committee on Migrant Workers
- Chairperson: Raffy Tulfo; Vice Chairperson: Villanueva; Members: Lapid, Erwin Tulfo; Aquino, Hontiveros, Ejercito, Pangilinan
Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation
- Chairperson: Sotto; Members: All senators but Gatchalian and ex-officio members
Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs
- Chairperson: Lacson; Vice Chairperson: Sotto, Ejercito; Members: Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Hontiveros, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Public Services
- Chairperson: Raffy Tulfo; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Lapid, Hontiveros, Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Rules
- Chairperson: Zubiri; Members: Ejercito, Lacson, Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Science and Technology
- Chairperson: Aquino; Members: Ejercito, Pangilinan, Hontiveros, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development
- Chairperson: Erwin Tulfo, Vice Chairperson: Hontiveros; Members: Pangilinan, Lapid, Raffy Tulfo
Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship
- Chairperson: Aquino; Members: Ejercito, Escudero, Lapid, Pangilinan, Raffy Tulfo, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement
- Chairperson: Escudero; Members: Aquino, Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, Villanueva, Ejercito
Senate Committee on Ways and Means
- Chairperson: Lacson; Vice Chairperson: Aquino; Members: Hontiveros, Pangilinan, Ejercito, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, Villanueva
Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality
- Chairperson: Hontiveros; Vice Chairperson: Ejercito; Members: Aquino, Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Ejercito, Villanueva
The memberships remain incomplete as the chamber awaits a list of committee members from the minority bloc.
Furthermore, elected as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal were Aquino, Pangilinan, Lapid, and Escudero.
The tribunal is mandated to decide on election-related protests.
Pangilinan was also appointed the Senate representative to the Judicial and Bar Council, which reviews the nominations for vacancies in the Supreme Court, other judicial bodies and the Office of the Ombudsman. /gsg/mcm
