7-member Duterte bloc backs Escudero for SP

MANILA,Philnes —  Senators within the Duterte bloc are backing Senate President Francis Escudero’s bid to retain the chamber’s top post, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said yesterdayDela Rosa confirmed that he had signed the suspected 18-member “supermajority” bloc’s resolution to retain Escudero as Senate President in the 20th Congress.

He could not confirm if the rest of the Duterte bloc had already done so.

Dela Rosa said all seven of them, which he called “Duter7,” have committed to support Escudero.

Senators Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Mark and Camille Villar are part of the Duterte bloc.

Go said the bloc based their decision on who could help them most in pushing for priority programs.

Dela Rosa said their decision was not tied to any promised position or favor, as insinuated by other senators.

Go and Dela Rosa claimed that Escudero’s stand on the possible conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte was not a factor in their decision to support him.

While they have yet to confirm if they have aligned themselves with the supermajority, Senators Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan would have to work with the Duterte bloc should they choose to.

Asked about this possibility, Dela Rosa said “I don’t know what the setup would be. I joined the majority not because of them (Kiko and Bam), but because of Senate President Escudero.”

Go said he was open to working with both senators despite their political differences.

Go recalled speaking with Aquino about collaborating to push education measures and programs.

Bam: I’m still independent

Aquino has clarified that he remains with the “independent bloc” amid claims that he betrayed the opposition to join the Senate majority bloc.

Aquino, who met with Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday to thank him for his support during the midterm elections, strongly debunked claims that he abandoned Sen. Risa Hontiveros – the lone opposition in the Senate.

“We’re still together in the independent bloc,” he stressed, referring to himself, Hontiveros and Pangilinan.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada earlier disclosed that Aquino and Pangilinan are likely to join the Senate majority in the 20th Congress, with expectations that they will chair the committees on education and agriculture.

Hinting at his interest in chairing the Senate education panel, Aquino said “the education crisis in our country needs to be addressed. It is important that we get the committee chairmanship. We have already discussed and we’re finalizing it.”

Pangilinan said his priority is to get the agriculture committee chairmanship “because that was what we promised to our voters.”

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed sympathy for Hontiveros and extended an open invitation for her to join the “veterans bloc” comprised of himself and Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda and Tito Sotto.

Blocs only about SP vote

Being part of the Senate majority or minority bloc depends solely on whom one votes for as the chamber’s leader, Lacson told “Storycon” on One News yesterday.

“When two candidates run for the Senate presidency and you vote for the losing side, you will necessarily be part of the minority,” he said.

“If a senator votes for the winning side, you become part of the majority. That’s the simple definition of it,” he added.

Lacson is backing Sotto’s bid for the Senate presidency – a role Sotto held from 2019 to 2022.

Current trends, however, favor Escudero.

Estrada on Monday claimed that Escudero has secured at least 13 votes to retain his post.

Lacson said if rumors are true that Aquino and Pangilinan might shift to the majority, it does not mean they will abandon their principles.

“I don’t see Pangilinan and Aquino voting in favor of outright dismissal of the impeachment complaint without the benefit of a trial,” Lacson said, referring to efforts by the Vice President’s allies to spare her of a trial by challenging its legality in the 20th Congress.

Shifting alliances would leave Hontiveros in the minority along with the veteran bloc.

Hontiveros has indicated that she will remain an “independent minority” senator – a position that Lacson said would be untenable.

“I told her that it’s not about the alignment. It’s about how you stand and fight on the issues,” Lacson recalled.

Hontiveros yesterday told reporters that she was “not hurt” by the potential shift, acknowledging each senator has a “strategy” and she is focusing on strengthening the opposition as the 2028 elections approach.

Being an “independent minority” senator is not something new.

At the start of the 19th Congress in 2022, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano declared himself as one, saying he did not want to join the minority bloc of Hontiveros and former senator Aquilino Pimentel III.

Regardless of alliances that will be formed when the Senate opens session on July 28, Lacson – who was first elected in 2001 and is now on his fourth non-consecutive term – emphasized his commitment to remaining a fiscalizer, setting his sights on the national budget.

Lacson has already hinted at some irregularities he uncovered, including a small municipality that allegedly received about P10 billion from the General Appropriations Act due to a flood project in its expenditures.

The veteran senator is still considering whether to greet the 20th Congress with a privilege speech about past budgets or to make comments during the deliberations on the 2026 budget.

“Good luck to us all,” Lacson said. – Gilbert Bayoran, EJ Macababbad