Senate Minority Leader Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III officially announced on Thursday that he has designated Senators Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri and Risa Hontiveros as Deputy Minority Leaders for the 20th Congress.
The appointments were formally acknowledged by Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada.
“I believe Senators Zubiri and Hontiveros are best suited to perform these roles with integrity, independence, and a strong sense of public accountability,” he said.
As deputies, Zubiri and Hontiveros are empowered to represent the Minority in all permanent committees and perform the duties of the Minority Leader in his absence.
Zubiri earlier this week confirmed his appointment during a media interview, saying the Senate leadership had agreed to increase the number of deputy minority leaders due to the bloc’s growth.
He explained that while there was only one deputy in the previous Congress, the current number of Minority members has more than doubled, prompting the adjustment.
“We are now five, we requested for an additional minority leader. The Senate President agreed to amend the rules to allow that,” he said.
Zubiri joined the minority bloc after backing Sotto’s unsuccessful bid for the Senate presidency during Monday’s session.
Escudero retained his post with 19 votes, while Sotto received five, effectively positioning Sotto as the new Minority Leader.
The other senators who voted for Sotto: Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Hontiveros, and Zubiri, now comprise the core of the Minority.
Hontiveros, reflecting on her new role, said she felt at peace and proud to serve again as part of the opposition.
She described the bloc’s first caucus as warm and productive, though primarily focused on internal organization and committee assignments.
“With each passing day, I feel more and more encouraged by this situation. We are fully committed to continuing our role in fiscalizing and ensuring checks and balances,” the senator concluded.
