The next Senate President should come from the UniTeam senatorial slate to ensure the quick passage of crucial pieces of legislation under the next administration, Senator Imee Marcos said on Sunday.
“I think everyone agreed that as far as the Senate is concerned, [the head] should come from UniTeam. What we need is a strong majority with 13 votes that we can count on,” said the senator and elder sister of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“That should be the case because with all the problems that we are facing, we should be able to move quickly in passing much needed laws,” she added.
Sen. Marcos earlier said she will not seek the Senate presidency or any other leadership position in the 19th Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senator Cynthia Villar, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, and Senator-elect Francis Escudero are among lawmakers reportedly vying for the Senate’s top position.
“For the Senate committee chairmanships, they must be willing to compromise because we need to be united,” Sen. Marcos said.
Among the winning senatorial bets who belong to the UniTeam slate are actor Robin Padilla, former Public Works chief Mark Villar, former senator Loren Legarda, former senator Jinggoy Estrada, and reelectionists Zubiri and Gatchalian.
Of the 24 senators who will comprise the 19th Congress, only Sen. Risa Hontiveros belongs to the minority. She is in talks with Sen. Koko Pimentel for a possible alliance as a supermajority shapes up in the Senate.
At the House of Representatives, re-elected Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez is poised to become the Speaker in the 19th Congress.
Aside from his own Lakas-CMD, other parties that have declared their support for Romualdez include the ruling PDP-Laban, National Unity Party, Nacionalista Party, Liberal Party, Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc., Hugpong ng Pagbabago, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Nationalist People’s Coalition, independents, and a group of neophyte lawmakers.
His endorsers now comprise an overwhelming majority of the members of the incoming House.
In a previous statement, former President and incoming Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo said she and Romualdez “have been working together for decades in a joint effort to do our best to serve the Filipino people.”
She said she was “throwing my support for Majority Leader Martin Romualdez to be elected as House Speaker in the next Congress” and was urging “all members of our party to do the same.”