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By Efren L. Danao Senior Reporter
Senate President Manuel Villar
and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. will meet to
discuss the apportionment of the 36 standing committees and enable
the Senate to start hearing bills and resolutions.
The agreement on a meeting
between the two came after separate caucuses by the nine
administration senators and the minority or the “Solid 8”
opposition to tackle this problem that has kept the Senate from
being fully organized.
Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago
said that there was agreement among the administration senators on
committee assignments.
“We are all agreed that we will
maintain the status quo, meaning we will continue to hold the
committees that we had in the Thirteenth Congress,” she said.
She said that in her case, she
would continue to be chairman of the energy committee and the
foreign relations, and be a member of the Commission on
Appointments.
“We did not discuss the blue
ribbon because that is a very contentious issue,” she said.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said that
Villar already had a preference on who would be the blue ribbon, but
declined to identify the senator.
“I will leave that up to the
Senate President,” he said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the
minority has already accepted the reality that they would get only
the committees that the majority do not like.
“It will be up to us if we
accept these committees or not,” he said.
Lacson said that getting major
committees is only wishful thinking for the minority.
“We have already voiced our
preferences; we have left our committee assignments for Nene to
decide,” he said.
Villar said that the committees
might be fully organized after three weeks.
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