Enrile is Senate President; Belmonte, House Speaker in 15th Congress

The 15th Congress opened today electing Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino as senate president and Quezon City (4th district) Rep. Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. of the Liberal Party as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Enrile, dubbed as “unity” senate president, obtained 17 out of 20 votes of senators belonging to Liberal and Nacionalista Parties, including Sen. Manuel Villar, who ran for president in the last May elections and was investigated by the 14th Senate under Enrile for alleged overpricing on the C-5 road extension project.

Enrile defeated Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano of the NP who automatically becomes the Senate minority leader. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was voted Senate President pro tempore . Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was majority floor leader and chairman of the Senate committee on rules.

Belmonte got 227 votes over Albay Rep. Edzel Lagman (Lakas-Lampi-CMD) who got only 29 votes. Lagman will share the position of House minority leader with Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez.

Newspaper reports said Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II (LP) will become majority floor leader.

Expected to become deputy speakers are Representatives Lorenzo Tañada III of Quezon (LP), Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite (Nacionalista Party), Arnulfo Fuentebella of Camarines Sur (Nationalist People’s Coalition), Pablo Garcia of Cebu (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), Raul Daza of Northern Samar (LP), and Ma. Isabel Climaco of Zamboanga City (LP).

There are 23 members of the Senate with the vacancy created by the election to the presidency of Aquino. Three senators were absent: Panfilo Lacson, who is subject of a warrant of arrest in connection with the Dacer-Corbito case; Antonio Trillanes IV, who is in detention for the charge of coup d’etat in connection with the Oakwood incident in July 2003; and Miriam Defensor-Santiago .

Enrile’s re-election as senate president was brought about by the failure of the LP and NP to muster the minimum 13 votes to elect a senate president.

Sen. Francisko “Kiko” Pangilinan, the LP bet for senate president withdrew his bid Sunday.“Much as I would like to go down fighting I realize that to continue with my bid would keep the Senate fragmented and disunited. The disunity must now end. I believe I can make it happen by voluntarily stepping aside,” he said in a press statement.

In his speech, Enrile said his re-election “ signals the unity that is sorely needed by our country today. It is a sign of the merging spirit in our rank and augurs well for our national community. The Senate will be strengthened no doubt by this singular act of unity among its members,” he said.

Although the NP supported Enrile, Cayetano had to run as opposition candidate for a healthier working relationship with Malacañang. He was supported by his sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano and Sen. Joker Arroyo, his mother’s executive secretary and ardent supporter of Arroyo.

His rival for the post, Lakas-Kampi’s Edcel Lagman, raised the white flag early in the day. He got only 29 votes.

Belmonte, in his speech, called on his colleagues to function in a “tight financial” set-up and set “higher levels of efficiency…prudent in crafting the national budget.”

Former President Gloria Arroyo, who is now representative of the 2nd district of Pampanga, was absent. She is in Hongkong with her husband, Mike. But her children, Dato, representative of the second district of Catanduanes, and Mikey, partlist representative of tricyle drivers and security guards and brother in-law, Negros Occidental (5th district) Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, were present.