At A Glance
- The Senate on Monday, Jan. 26, finalized the membership of the Committee on Ethics and Privileges after electing members from the minority bloc.
The Senate on Monday, Jan. 26, finalized the membership of the Committee on Ethics and Privileges after electing members from the minority bloc.
Senator JV Ejercito (Senate PRIB photo)
Before adjourning the plenary session, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri moved to elect Senators Joel Villanueva, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, and Christopher “Bong” Go of the minority bloc as members of the committee.
This was approved by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III without objection.
Chaired by Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges is tasked with handling matters relating to the
conduct, rights, privileges, safety, dignity, integrity, and reputation of the Senate and its members.
The panel is also composed of Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan as its Vice Chairperson, Senator Risa Hontiveros as Deputy Majority Leader, and Senator Erwin Tulfo as a member, with Villanueva as Deputy Minority Leader.
Zubiri, along with Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, and Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, will serve as ex officio members of the committee.
Last week, a lawyer filed an ethics complaint against Ejercito for "gross neglect of duty," claiming that the senator ignored their complaint against Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero for 109 days. The complaint was in relation to the P30-million campaign donation from Lawrence Lubiano, owner of Centerways Construction.
Ejercito said that at that time, the committee was not yet fully constituted and therefore could not hold meetings or conduct hearings.
Yet he assured that the Ethics panel will convene and hear pending cases once it is fully constituted and when the session resumes, and that the said cases will be heard in order of filing.