Sen. Risa Hontiveros congratulated her colleagues in the Senate minority bloc after Sens. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson Sr. assumed new leader roles in the upper chamber on Monday, September 8.
Sotto returned to the Senate presidency after securing enough votes to reclaim the third-highest position in the government, as the Senate probes the alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Before this, he served as Senate Minority Leader.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francisco “Chiz” Escudero, who was reelected as Senate President just over a month ago, is now under fire for his ties to top government contractor Lawrence Lubiano, who happens to be his leading campaign donor.
Escudero has also faced intense scrutiny over his handling of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lacson, Sotto’s running mate in the 2022 presidential elections, was also elected Senate President Pro Tempore, replacing Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
The Senate President Pro Tempore presides over the upper chamber in the absence of the Senate President.
Sen. Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, the Deputy Senate Minority Leader, also replaced Sen. Joel Villanueva as the new Senate Majority Leader.
Hontiveros dedicated a social media post congratulating Sotto and Lacson as they assumed their new roles in the Senate on Monday.
“CONGRATULATIONS, Senate President Tito Sotto [and] Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson! Tiwala ako sa pamumuno ninyo,” she wrote on Facebook with emojis of a thumbs up and the Philippine flag.
Sotto has previously called for stronger laws governing flood control projects, following allegations of anomalies, as the country continues to experience widespread flooding during the rainy season.
Lacson, on the other hand, detailed how corruption allegedly occurs in such projects during his privilege speech. — with reports from Philstar.com/Jean Mangaluz
