Senator Migz Zubiri expressed sympathy for Senator Risa Hontiveros after reports surfaced that her political allies, Senators Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan, may be moving to join the Senate majority bloc in the 20th Congress.
According to sources, Aquino and Pangilinan are reportedly eyeing chairmanships of the Education and Agriculture committees—key pillars of their successful 2025 midterm campaigns.
“Naawa nga ako kay Senator Risa. Alam mo na kampanya na kampanya siya sa kanyang mga kandidato. tapos sabi niya gagawa siya ng sariling bloke na independent bloc e ngayon ay mag isa na lang siya. Kaya I heard na mag isa na lang siya. I cannot confirm or deny this,” Zubiri said during the Kapehan sa Maynila forum on Monday, July 7.
Zubiri, who is part of the emerging “veterans bloc” with Senators Ping Lacson, Loren Legarda, and Tito Sotto, extended an open invitation to Hontiveros to join their group, which he said will act as Senate fiscalizers should Senate President Chiz Escudero secure re-election.
“Of course! She’s most welcome to join. But we have more divergent positions on issues because she is more on the left side world, we’re on the conservative. Many of you know I’m a conservative politician,” he added.
“But, you know, when it comes to transparency, we’re all in this together, right? When it comes to abuse of authority, we should all stand together as well. We welcome her to join us. We’ll adopt her even if she doesn’t want to be adopted.”
Neither Aquino nor Pangilinan has confirmed or denied the reports of a shift to the majority bloc, which was first hinted at by Senator Jinggoy Estrada in an earlier interview.