A new coalition is being considered in the Philippine Senate to install Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president, according to Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, as a minority bloc seeks additional support to replace Senator Pia Cayetano, various local media outlets reported.
Zubiri said the Solid Bloc-11, or SB-11, an 11-member minority bloc formed after Cayetano’s ascent to the Senate presidency, still needs more senators to secure the numbers required to unseat her. Cayetano assumed the Senate presidency on May 11th.
‘We’re still talking to several individuals, and hopefully we’ll be able to form a coalition. So we’ll see,’ Zubiri told reporters on Monday.
He said the proposed coalition would back Gatchalian, describing him as the ‘most acceptable’ candidate for the chamber’s leadership due to his handling of the finance committee, which Zubiri called ‘very fair and transparent.’ He also described Gatchalian as a ‘consultative leader.’
Gatchalian has also been a prominent voice in the Philippines’ gaming policy debate. He pushed for the end of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs, in the country, while taking a more regulatory approach toward domestic online gambling, arguing that stricter oversight would be preferable to a blanket ban.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also backed Gatchalian, saying the bloc supported him for the Senate presidency. She described him as a serious legislator and said the Senate needed leadership that could restore public confidence in the institution.
Zubiri said there were only five session days left before Congress adjourns on June 5th, but added that ‘anything can happen’ in politics.
Cayetano, meanwhile, said the 13-member majority bloc remained intact.
