Chiz reaching out to Duterte bloc – Bato

MANILA, Philippines — Amid a possible shakeup in the Senate leadership, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa bared Tuesday that Senate President Francis Escudero has reached out to him through text messages about the Senate presidency.

While the reelected senator did not divulge details about their conversation, he said the Duterte bloc has yet to decide who it will support as Senate president in the upcoming Congress, ABS-CBN News reported.

Dela Rosa said he would be speaking with members of the Duterte bloc before deciding on the matter, stressing they have to wait for Sen. Robinhood Padilla to return from The Hague. Padilla flew to the Netherlands to show his support for incarcerated former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Risa eyes minority leader’s post, 2028 presidential run

Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros has expressed her intention to pursue the Senate minority leadership in the upcoming 20th Congress now that she has gained allies in senators-elect Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan.

Hontiveros said that while she does not know how Aquino and Pangilinan would have themselves organized in the next Congress, she hopes they would all be part of the minority bloc or an independent bloc, if other coalitions such as the Duterte bloc would be declared the minority.

“Of course, (the Senate minority leadership) is something that any minority of an outgoing Congress aspires for, especially if there are allied senators who were elected and you could build a minority,” she said during the Kapihan sa Senado yesterday.

While the lawmaker hopes to build a bigger minority bloc compared to that of the 19th Congress – of which only she and Sen. Koko Pimentel were members – she said she was also open to building an independent bloc, stressing that she is unwilling to be part of a “minority” built by the Duterte bloc.

“As in everything in organizing in the Senate, it’s a matter of numbers. So if the majority declares the Senate President, it’s possible that other blocs that have the second most number of members can claim the minority,” she said.

“Even if that was the scenario, I have a Plan B which is the independent bloc,” she added, saying she hopes Aquino and Pangilinan would join her.

While the Duterte bloc – which is posturing itself as an opposition coalition – has yet to bare plans for the 20th Congress, it currently has more members than Hontiveros’ “independent bloc.”

Among the Duterte-allied senators are Padilla and reelectionists Dela Rosa, Bong Go and Imee Marcos, and senator-elect Rodante Marcoleta. Senator-elect Camille Villar, while not officially dropped from the administration slate, is perceived to be Duterte-leaning.

Hontiveros stressed that whatever the outcome, she would be pursuing a coalition that would serve as a “a stabilizing force that will uphold checks and balances and continue to serve as a fiscal watchdog.”

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said she is open to the possibility of running for president in the 2028 elections as the opposition’s standard-bearer, however, building unity among opposition and independent forces is the more urgent priority.

“I’m not saying no. I’m open to all possibilities and that’s what I’m asking all my comrades in the opposition and independent bloc – to be open to all possibilities and to each other, for the sake of the opposition and for the sake of our countrymen,” she said.

For now, Hontiveros said she and her allies would be focused on consolidating opposition and independent politicians in the first nine months after the elections.