ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sotto's leadership still stable, says Gatchalian

Sotto's leadership still stable, says Gatchalian

Published Oct 4, 2025 04:17 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Sherwin Gatchalian affirmed that Senate President Tito Sotto's leadership remains stable, as he emphasized their close coordination on the proposed 2026 budget and commitment to a thorough review process.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday, Oct. 4, that Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III's leadership in the upper chamber remains stable.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Senate PRIB photo)
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Senate PRIB photo)
This was after Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito's recent pronouncement that he, along with four other senators, considered leaving the Sotto-led majority bloc amid the continuing investigation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee into the anomalous Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects. 
Ejercito added that they planned to create an independent bloc.
"Unang-una ako nakikita ko na stable ang leadership ni Senator Sotto (First of all I see a stable leadership in Senator Sotto," Gatchalian said in a radio interview with Usapang Senado over DWIZ.
Gatchalian said that he spoke with Ejercito but did not divulge the details of their conversation.
"Nag-uusap kami pero hindi ko na rin pag-uusapan muna kung ano yung mga napag-uusapan namin o ano yung aking feelings. Ang importante ay, ako sa akin kasi importante maayos itong 2026 budget at ang importante sa akin yung paano matulungan yung mga tinamaan ng lindol at ng bagyo (We are talking, but I won’t discuss for now what we’ve talked about or how I feel. What’s important to me is that the 2026 budget is in order, and that we can help those affected by the earthquake and the typhoon)," he said.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said that Sotto has been hands-on when it comes to the 2026 budget.
"Madalas kami mag-uusap in fact. Almost two to three times a week kami nag-uusap tungkol sa budget. Of course, kinoconsult ko sa kanya yung mga gusto kong repormang gawin at very supportive naman siya (We talk often, in fact. We discuss the budget almost two to three times a week. Of course, I consult him on the reforms I want to implement, and he has been very supportive)," Gatchalian said.
"At of course, itong budget, pang buong bansa ito. So, importante na merong consultation na nangyayari. So, ako nakikita ko na gusto ni Senator Sotto na maayos itong budget process natin (And of course, this budget is for the whole country. So, it’s important that consultations take place. From my perspective, I can see that Senator Sotto wants our budget process to be orderly)," he added.
He also stated that he and Sotto agreed with President Marcos that they would no longer implement the certificate of urgency for the budget.
"Kung matatandaan mo, second and third reading, isang araw lang. Walang time to review. Wala nang gano'n. So pag-approve on second reading, bibigyan namin ng panahon ng mga senador three days to review pa (If you recall, the second and third readings used to be done in just one day. There was no time to review. That won’t be the case anymore. So after approval on second reading, we will give the senators three days to review)," he said.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian said that he's in favor of letting the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) continue the investigation into the anomalous flood control projects to avoid any political issues.
"So mas maganda na sila na lang ang magpatuloy nito para maging mas komprehensibo at hindi nagagamit yung hearing. Hindi nagagamit yung Senado sa mga political agenda. Alam mo, hindi natin matatanggal. Politicians kami lahat. Kanyang-kanyang political agenda lahat (So it’s better that they be the ones to continue this, so it can be more comprehensive, and the hearing won’t be used for other purposes. The Senate should not be used for political agendas. You know, we can’t avoid that—we’re all politicians, and each of us has our own political agenda)," he said.
"So para matanggal yung political agenda, mas magandang ibigay na lang sa ICI (So to remove the political agenda, it’s better to just leave it to the ICI)," he added.


Sotto says Blue Ribbon hearings suspended, but...
Gatchalian said that in his conversation with Sotto, the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings will be suspended for the meantime.
"But we will still discuss the legislative proposals through an executive session. That will be our course of action," he added.
Sotto did not confirm the suspension of the hearing but said that once they agree on the proposals, they will put them on the floor.
But he stated that everyone must wait for Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson's decision on what to do with the hearings. 

Related Tags

Sherwin Gatchalian Tito Sotto Senate leadership 2026 budget Senate Blue Ribbon Committee ping lacson
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.