Missing in action? 26 Senate committees await minority bloc members

MANILA, Philippines — As the Senate moves to complete its committee membership and resume work on pending legislation, 26 of its 41 standing committees are still awaiting minority members.

As of Thursday, an updated committee membership list showed that 15 committees already have complete minority membership, while 26 remain marked “for election.”

The development came after Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Imee Marcos manifested their elected minority members for six committees during Wednesday’s plenary session.

Included in her manifestation are the Committees on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs, Culture and the Arts, Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation and Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change.

The minority membership in these five committees was completed following Marcos’ manifestation.

The Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, meanwhile, remains incomplete, with Sen. Mark Villar designated as chairperson and Sen. Loren Legarda as a member.

Four other minority members are still to be designated.

Pending committee reports

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who was absent from Wednesday’s session, was not feeling well and had been exempted from attending.

Zubiri said he had spoken with Cayetano and that they had reached an agreement that the minority’s membership in certain committees would be forthcoming.

Zubiri said the incomplete minority memberships would not prevent committees from conducting hearings or preparing committee reports, as long as Cayetano, as minority leader, signs off on the reports.

He said this arrangement has been observed by the Senate in previous Congresses, adding that the chamber would ensure that committee reports would still go through the minority leader and the deputy minority leader while the remaining committee memberships are being completed.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate currently has 10 pending committee reports, which had been held back because the chamber wanted to give minority members the opportunity to review, comment on and ultimately sign the reports.

Under the agreement with Zubiri, however, Gatchalian said the 10 reports could now be routed for signatures, allowing their respective chairpersons to sponsor them on the floor.

Gatchalian clarified that the arrangement would not limit the minority’s participation in the legislative process, as minority senators would still be able to debate, interpolate, comment on and vote for or against the reports once they reach the plenary.

Zubiri, meanwhile, said he would continue working with Cayetano in the succeeding days to complete the minority memberships in the remaining committees.

The issue of incomplete committee memberships had earlier prompted Sen. Raffy Tulfo to accuse Cayetano of “holding hostage” committee seats and several Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council priority bills.

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