ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Plantsado na': Escudero to remain Senate president, Estrada says

'Plantsado na': Escudero to remain Senate president, Estrada says

Published Jul 19, 2025 04:20 pm
For Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, there's no doubt that Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero will remain as Senate president in the 20th Congress.
Senate President Francis
Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero (Senate PRIB photo)
"Sa aking palagay ay plantsado na, at mananatili pa ring pangulo ng Senado si Senator Escudero at nakalikom na siya ng higit 13 boto ng mga senador para suportahan siya na manatili sa kanyang pwesto (In my view, it’s already settled that Senator Escudero will remain as Senate President, as he has secured the support of more than 13 senators to keep his position)," he said in an interview on Saturday, July 19 at Usapang Senado over DWIZ.
When asked regarding the exact number of senators backing Escudero, Estrada said that it's around 18. This means that only six senators have not manifested their support for Escudero to lead the upper chamber anew starting July 28.
Meanwhile, Senators Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and Panfilo "Ping" Lacson have expressed openness to be in the minority bloc, with Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III leading them.
Sotto has also stated that Senator Risa Hontiveros is open to joining them, while Senator Loren Legarda, according to Zubiri, is part of their so-called veterans bloc.
Senator Lito Lapid, according to Estrada, has already joined the majority bloc.
The sixth senator who has not yet expressed support for Escudero is Senator Imee Marcos, who is part of the so-called Duterte bloc, along with Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, Christopher "Bong" Go, Robin Padilla, Rodante Marcoleta, as well as Camille and Mark Villar.
But the Duterte bloc, according to Dela Rosa, has already committed their support for Escudero.
When it comes to committee chairmanships, Estrada said that these have most likely already been distributed among Escudero's supporters in the chamber.
Based on talks, Estrada said that the Senate Committee on Finance would "most probably" be given to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
This committee was offered by Sotto's bloc to Marcos, Estrada said. He added that he's still convincing her to join the majority.
"I have been in constant touch with her at mayroon siyang hinihinging ibang mga committees. Mayroon siyang gustong i-unload na committees at mayroon din siyang hinihingi na bagong committees (I have been in constant touch with her, and she is requesting some changes in her committee assignments. She wants to unload certain committees and is also asking for new ones)," he said.
When asked if there's still a chance to convince her to join the majority bloc, Estrada said: "Mayroon naman (There is still a chance)."
On the other hand, the Senate Committee on Basic Education, previously handled by Gatchalian, will be given to Senator Bam Aquino since it's his advocacy, Estrada said.
Senator Erwin Tulfo would most likely be given the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, while the Senate Committee on Public Services would remain with his brother, Senator Raffy Tulfo.
Estrada joked that it's better to ask Senator Joel Villanueva about the committee chairmanships since he's the one handling it.
There's only a week left before the opening of the first regular session of the 20th Congress on July 28.

Related Tags

Chiz Escudero Jinggoy Estrada Senate leadership 20th Congress
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.