Senator Mark A. Villar senate portrait
Minority leader Cayetano wishes former bloc colleague well as chamber divides 14–10
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Mark Villar moved from the minority to the bloc led by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday, October 8, and was elected chairman of the Committee on Public Works, bringing the majority bloc’s membership to 14 of the chamber’s 24 senators.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved for Villar to succeed Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III as public works chairman and take Zubiri’s seat on the Commission on Appointments. Both motions were approved without objection.
The changes left 10 senators in the minority, led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. Villar’s sister, Sen. Camille Villar, remains with the group.
In another appointment, the Senate elected Cayetano to replace Sen. Loren Legarda, who has been on extended medical leave, on the Commission on Appointments. The bicameral body reviews certain presidential appointments.
Zubiri said Villar wanted committee assignments that would allow him to be more active in the Senate. He rejected suggestions that the transfer was connected to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying a senator’s membership in either bloc does not determine a vote for conviction or acquittal.
Cayetano wished Villar well in an October 8 statement and said the minority would continue its oversight responsibilities.
“Regardless of how the political landscape shifts, our duty remains unchanged,” Cayetano said. He described the minority’s continuing role as holding the government to account and serving as constructive opposition.
Villar’s transfer followed a disagreement with fellow minority senators over the voting threshold in Duterte’s impeachment trial. On September 23, Villar was the only minority senator among the 13 who supported replacing an earlier ruling that fixed the requirement for conviction at 16 votes. One senator voted against the change, six did not participate and four were absent.
Under the revised rule, the two-thirds requirement is calculated using senators legally and actually capable of participating when judgment is rendered, rather than automatically counting all 24 Senate seats.
The revised formula faces a new challenge before the Supreme Court after three earlier petitions were dismissed on procedural grounds.
