With the next Congress set to start soon, all eyes will be on the Senate which will convene as an impeachment court to try Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio.
As such, the leadership of the upper chamber of the bicameral Congress will be the center of attention. Whether incumbent Senate President Chiz Escudero gets to keep his post or is replaced by former Senate president Tito Sotto (who just won his fourth non-consecutive term) is the question.
Acting as possible spoiler is re-elected Sen. Imee Marcos, who has expressed an interest in running for the post.
It will all boil down to whoever has the votes among the 24-member Senate.
Speaking in the vernacular, Escudero said last week that it was up to the majority of his fellow senators if they wanted him to stay or leave.
“Whoever has the numbers can accept the responsibility and challenge of leading the Senate,” he said.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said he expects Escudero to retain his post as Senate president, even as he admitted that “everything is still possible, everything is still fluid.”
Estrada actually serves as Senate president pro tempore, making him the second in command to Escudero. He said he was “confident” that the current Senate president would retain his post.
Estrada added that it would be an advantage for the impeachment court to have a lawyer like Escudero to preside over the trial of VP Sara Duterte-Carpio.
While Escudero is a lawyer, the two other Senate president wannabes, Imee Marcos and Tito Sotto, are not.
Still, Sotto declared that he was ready to again serve as Senate president if 13 of the 24 senators support him.
Recent reports say that Sotto has been talking to his fellow senators to find out if he had enough votes to challenge Escudero.
Meanwhile, Sen. Marcos said she has been approached by “some” of her colleagues who said they would support her if she decided to seek the presidency of the Senate.
Although she was at the tail end of the candidates who won Senate seats in the recent elections, Marcos did not hide her willingness to aspire for the Senate presidency. She said there were “certain congressional reforms that need to be undertaken.”
Such a statement could be interpreted to mean that she was more than open to leading the upper chamber of Congress.
Marcos, older sister of the President, said the most important reform needed was in the budgetary process.
“We should also start with electoral reforms, including political,” she said.
The senator added that political parties “have become mere tools for personal ambition rather than public interest.”
She said she would be joining the “Duterte bloc” in the Senate when the 20th Congress begins in July.
For his part, Sotto is identified with the bloc allied with President Marcos. Escudero is also allied with that same bloc.
The incoming Senate will have three independent senators, namely Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, and Kiko Pangilinan. The trio is expected to serve as a third force separate from the pro-Marcos majority and pro-Duterte minority senators.
Pundits say they may hold the key as to who will end up as Senate president in the 20th Congress.
