Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Tuesday, October 7, revealed the names of senators who may succeed Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as chairperson of the powerful Senate Committee on Accountability, Public Officers and Investigations, more commonly known as the Blue Ribbon Committee.
“Para sa akin kung sino ang rekomendasyon ni Senator Lacson would have a very strong edge over anybody else,” Sotto said in an interview.
Among those being considered for the post are:
- Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito
- Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros
- Senator Pia Cayetano
- Senator Raffy Tulfo
- Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
Sotto said that the matter will be discussed in a majority caucus scheduled for Wednesday noon, where senators will deliberate on who should take over the Blue Ribbon leadership following Lacson’s resignation.
“Pag-uusapan namin. As a matter of fact, tumawag ako ng caucus bukas ng tanghali, kaming mga members ng majority para pag-usapan itong nangyaring ito sa resignation ni Senator Lacson,” Sotto added.
Lacson recently stepped down from his post as Blue Ribbon chair, citing waning trust from some of his colleagues as the reason for his decision.
“Kung nagkukulang na ng pagtitiwala ang aking kasamahan, especially kung mas marami sa kanila, hindi na masaya sa pagha-handle sa akin sa Blue Ribbon, naisip ko na maybe stepping down is an option,” Lacson earlier said.
The Blue Ribbon Committee is one of the most influential panels in the Senate, tasked with investigating cases involving corruption and irregularities in government.