Senator Imee Marcos was unanimously elected as the Senate’s Deputy Minority Leader on Wednesday after the chamber approved her nomination without any objections during the plenary session.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano introduced the motion to appoint Marcos. Following the vote, Cayetano addressed speculation surrounding the 11-member bloc’s stance toward the current administration, highlighting Marcos’ position as the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“So for the record, we are not anti-Marcos because we’re electing Imee as deputy minority leader,” Cayetano said.
Prior to her election, the Senate also approved the minority bloc’s proposed committee chairmanships as presented by Cayetano:
- Senator Imee Marcos: Committee on Cooperatives
- Senator Robin Padilla: Committee on Public Information and Mass Media; Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs
- Senator Christopher “Bong” Go: Committee on Sports; Committee on Youth
- Senator Loren Legarda: Committee on Culture and the Arts; Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation
- Senator Rodante Marcoleta: Committee on Tourism
- Senator Jinggoy Estrada: Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation
- Senator Pia Cayetano: Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking
- Senator Camille Villar: Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises
In addition, Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was assigned to chair both the Committee on Ethics and Privileges and the Committee on Public Works.