Blue Ribbon Committee Now Led by Sen. Erwin Tulfo Following Senate Elections
ERWIN TULFO – The Senator is officially elected as the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee with all majority senators except for one as members.
Before the special session called by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. among the senators today to tackle certain measures, the majority bloc in the chamber finalized the Senate positions. Sen. Joel Villanueva joined the majority bloc.
Senators Joel Villanueva and Mark Villar were not in the petition filed by the Cayetano bloc before the Supreme Court over the Senate leadership. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano insisted that he is the legal and moral Senate president of the Republic of the Philippines.
Cayetano’s previous claim came after a Senate plenary session was held last June 3 amid he and his bloc’s absence. Then, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian who was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore presided the session.
Here are the chairmanships following the June 3 Senate plenary session:
- Finance:Â Sen. JV Ejercito
- National Defense and Security:Â Sen. Tito Sotto
- Public Order and Dangerous Drugs:Â Sen. Ping Lacson
- Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon Committee):Â Sen. Erwin Tulfo
- Public Services:Â Sen. Raffy Tulfo
- Basic Education:Â Sen. Bam Aquino
- Agriculture:Â Sen. Kiko Pangilinan
- Health and Demography:Â Sen. Risa Hontiveros
- Games and Amusement:Â Sen. Lito Lapid
- Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlements:Â Sen. Chiz Escudero
- Foreign Relations:Â Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri
The ‘now minority bloc’ opposed the elections held last June 3. Both senators Pia Cayetano and Erwin Tulfo asserted that they are the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee. The minority senators held a hearing on the flood control issue as they invited the “18 ex-marines” who allegedly worked under Zaldy Co before.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo and the majority senators also invited the “18 ex-marines” in a discussion but they did not arrive at the session hall. They made several claims during the session with the Cayetano bloc and the Gatchalian bloc wanted clarifications.
Today, after Sen. Joel Villanueva joined the majority bloc, 13 senators voted on the positions in the Senate. Senate Pres. Sherwin Gatchalian is now the official chief of the chamber with Sen. Tito Sotto as the Senate President Pro Tempore.
The Blue Ribbon Committee chairman is Sen. Erwin Tulfo. Based on a post of Philippine Star, all members of the majority bloc except for Sen. Chiz Escudero are members of the Blue Ribbon committee.
Escudero claimed that he stands with the Senate in his decision to attend the June 3 plenary session. However, recently, an alleged former bagman of Zaldy Co has implicated the name of Sen. Chiz Escudero in the flood control scam.