20th Congress starts; Chiz seen to keep post

MANILA, Philippines — With the opening of the 20th Congress, Senate President Francis Escudero is poised to maintain his leadership of the chamber.

Despite the controversy over his handling of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, Escudero appears to be still in control of the Senate, at least based on verbal commitments of support from many of his colleagues.

If the Senate were to choose its leader now, Escudero will retain his post hands down, according to Sen. Joel Villanueva, citing outcome of his informal talks with colleagues.

“I’ve talked with many senators and just like the majority of the members of the incoming 20th Congress, I am also in support of the current SP,” Villanueva told reporters yesterday.

He said that in the last two to three weeks, he had spoken to 13 senators who voiced their support for Escudero. He did not name the senators. “I am confident because I talked to the majority of the senators,” he said. “Sen. Escudero enjoys the support of the majority of members.”

Villanueva cited Escudero’s work ethic and leadership style as key factors that attracted support.

“Basically, if you look at his accomplishments… if he seeks help for a certain measure, we will be spending midnight oil literally in the Senate,” Villanueva said

“For me, it’s easy to make a decision because we’re result-oriented, many bills passed and at the same time, the respect of the senator,” he added.

However, Villanueva also acknowledged that his colleagues may change their minds. “Of course every day is another day. I don’t know if they will change their mind,” he said.

In a separate interview, Sen. Erwin Tulfo said he and his brother Raffy were among the 13 senators backing Escudero’s leadership.

He said he and his brother decided to align themselves with the majority bloc. “Let’s be with the majority, said Senator Raffy and I said, OK,” Tulfo said.

“Usually in the majority, instructions come from above to help the administration. We’re in the majority, I’m with Alyansa. So it’s expected, I will be in the majority,” he added, referring to the administration party.

He said he chose Escudero over Sen. Vicente Sotto III after weighing options and consulting with his brother.

Tulfo also cited an earlier pronouncement from Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano that at least 13 senators had already pledged support for Escudero. “I guess I’m now with the 13 or more than 13.”

After being proclaimed a winner in the  senatorial elections, Sotto immediately declared his interest in the Senate presidency.

Sen. Imee Marcos had also expressed her intention to be Senate president. But at his oath-taking yesterday, Sotto said he is willing to settle for the post of minority leader if he does not get enough votes for Senate president.

First bills filed

Meanwhile, senators in the 20th Congress have started filing their priority bills. The first round of filing of bills and resolutions commenced yesterday, while the second round will be on July 7.

For the 20th Congress, the order of filing will be through a raffle instead of basing it on lawmakers’ seniority or length of service.

Sen. JV Ejercito got the No. 1 spot for the first round while Villanueva would be first to file for the second round.

Under the new internal protocols, Ejercito would still get the 1-10 Senate Bill numbering even if he files his bills tomorrow.

Among the first to file bills yesterday was Villanueva, who picked the fifth spot for the first round. He filed measures that seek to stop Endo schemes, create a legal framework for freelancers and align regional minimum wages with fair and decent living standards for workers, among others.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla filed similar measures, including minimum wage increase for private sector workers to P150.

Padilla – who is aligned with one of today’s prevailing political dynasties – also filed measures seeking to prohibit political dynasties, institute divorce, abolish travel tax, medicalization of marijuana, among others.

Meanwhile, Senate President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada filed measures seeking the removal of senior high school education and penalizing espionage.

Returning Sen. Bam Aquino filed 10 education-related bills that seek to resolve the education crisis and learning issues in schools–, including an amendment to the Free College Education Act that he authored.

Under the bill, Aquino seeks to “ensure that all 4Ps beneficiaries who complete Senior High School and are accepted into CHED-recognized Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will receive support through the TES.”

Sen. Bong Go’s top 10 priority bills focus on health care, education, disaster response and grassroots support.

Among his proposed measures are expansion of the Tertiary Education Subsidy, provision of PhilHealth ID health cards and establishment of Mental Health Offices in state universities and colleges.

Escudero’s first 10 bills focus on local autonomy, small business recovery and civil service reforms.

The first round of filing bills and resolutions will run until July 3.

Early House bills

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez spearheaded the filing of new bills, including exempting overseas Filipino workers from paying premium to state insurer Philippine Health Corp.

He was joined by his neophyte son Andrew Julian and Rep. Jude Acidre – both representing party-list Tingog – in authoring House Bill 2, seeking to exempt OFWs, whether land or sea-based, from paying premium contributions.

Romualdez said the measure aims to “strengthen the country’s health care system to better achieve efficiency and equity and improve public health emergency preparedness.”

It proposes various changes in Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act.

“Once passed, this measure will certainly maximize the potential of the Universal Health Care law to become the instrument for universal and equitable health care access for every Filipino,” the authors said.

Neophyte Rep. Leandro Legarda-Leviste of Batangas’ first district filed his pet bill HB 27, the National Student Allowance Program of 2025.

In filing the bill, Leviste said he wants all students, from kindergarten to college, to have at least P1,000 allowance at the start of the school year, and the same amount monthly for 10 months until the end of the school year.

Another neophyte lawmaker, Rep.Robert Nazal of party-list Bagong Henerasyon, said his bills aim to address urgent concerns such as health care, food security, solo parent support, consumer protection, government reform and sustainable development.

“This is a new chapter for Bagong Henerasyon, but our commitment to inclusive, pro-people legislation remains. I’m here to carry forward the work Rep. Bernadette Herrera started – with urgency, passion and a clear focus on serving all Filipinos,” Nazal said.

One of the first measures he filed was the Private Hospital Malasakit Centers Act, which seeks to establish Malasakit Centers in private hospitals to provide easier access to medical assistance for patients in need.

Aside from OFWs PhilHealth premium payment exemption, Romualdez also filed HB 3 that seeks the creation of Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control to serve as the principal agency tasked with developing and implementing communicable disease prevention and control initiatives. He co-authored the measure with his son Andrew and veteran lawmaker Acidre.

In proposing the creation of the Philippine CDC, the three lawmakers invoked a provision in the Constitution mandating the state to “protect and promote the right to health of every Filipino and instill health consciousness among them.”

“The State recognizes its duty to give utmost priority to public health measures, particularly with the continuing emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases that pose significant threats to nations worldwide,” they said.   – Delon Porcalla