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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sotto denies rumors Lacson resigned as Blue Ribbon chair to save his leadership

Sotto denies rumors Lacson resigned as Blue Ribbon chair to save his leadership

Published Oct 22, 2025 03:02 pm
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III denied on Wednesday, Oct. 22, that Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson's resignation as the Blue Ribbon Committee chairman was meant to save the former's leadership.
Senate President Vicente
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (Senate PRIB photo)
Sotto said this during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, just as he confirmed recently that there's a 100 percent chance that Lacson would return as the panel's chairperson.
"No he did not. That was the idea of some people, sabi nila King’s Gambit nga, nangingiti na lang kami ni Ping (That was the idea of some people, they said it was like the King’s Gambit, Senator Ping and I just smiled), it could be an idea pero as far as he was concerned, during that time he was frustrated, that was the word," Sott said.
"But then again, later on, in the course of our talks with other people, he realized that it was still necessary. It’s important for him to listen to the voices of our colleagues and to the voice of the public," he added.
Sotto said in a separate interview that he felt Lacson still has unfinished business in the committee and a hearing may be conducted by November or earlier depending on Lacson.
"We’ll probably do it in a caucus, but by Nov. 10 we can make it official," he said.
"Before that nag-uusapan na rin namin yan sapagkat nararamdaman ko rin na may unfinished business doon. Yung clamor ng ibang mga kasamahan namin at ng publiko na naririnig ko. Apparently, nakakarating sa kanya (Before that, we had already been talking about it because I could also feel that there was some unfinished business there. The clamor from some of our colleagues and from the public that I’ve been hearing apparently reached him)," he said.
Meanwhile, Sotto also stated that he felt his leadership was not endangered during the time of Lacson's resignation since he was relying on the honesty and integrity of his colleagues.
"Merong ganung mga salita, pero nanaig pa rin ako tingin ko sa side na 'hindi, straight thinkers sila e' straight thinkers yung mga colleagues ko (There were words like that, but I still leaned toward thinking that, 'No, my colleagues are straight thinkers'. They’re straight thinkers)," he added.

Related Tags

Senate President Vicente \"Tito\" Sotto III Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo \"Ping\" Lacson Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Senate leadership
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