Angara Bloc Declares Support For Enrile

THE Senate presidency may yet elude Liberal Party Senator Francis Pangilinan after a group led by Senator Edgardo Angara on Wednesday declared they would vote to re-elect Juan Ponce Enrile to the same position.

The so-called Angara bloc in the Senate—Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda, Ramon Revilla Jr., Lito Lapid, Gregorio Honasan, and Vicente Sotto III—decided to support Enrile over Pangilinan and Nacionalista Party Senator Manuel Villar Jr. in a meeting Wednesday.

Enrile, who appeared at the meeting on the bloc’s invitation, agreed to join the Senate leadership contest after being informed of their decision to support him, a senator from the Angara bloc said.

The development apparently caught the Pangilinan camp flat-footed with Pangilinan unable to issue any statement as of press time.

Pangilinan and Villar had been soliciting support from colleagues in the past few weeks to give them the 13 votes needed to bag the Senate presidency, a post held by Enrile until June 30.

The Angara bloc said they would support an aspirant who could protect and uphold the independence and autonomy of the Senate, who would pursue a reformist agenda, and who would not be obstructionist.

Angara had expressed misgivings about Pangilinan taking over the helm of the Senate because his closeness to President Benigno Aquino III may stymie his ability to blunt Malacanang’s encroachment on the Senate.

Honasan, Sotto, and Senator Jinggoy Estrada were reportedly instrumental in persuading Enrile to take another crack at the Senate presidency.

Estrada is Enrile’s partymate in the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Revilla, who was earlier reported to have agreed to vote for Pangilinan, repeated that he would not break away from the Angara bloc.

Another Senate source said the Angara bloc was negotiating with the Villar camp to forge a coalition and form a new majority to gain control of the Senate.

Villar’s group is composed of his NP partymates Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Miriam Defensor Santiago of the People’s Reform Party, and Joker Arroyo.

Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition was Villar’s running mate in the May 10 elections.

Earlier, Zubiri said Villar’s allies had sent word that they were willing to support Enrile on the condition they there should be no revival of the C-5 road extension case that the Senate had investigated.

An alliance of the Villar group and the Angara bloc can deliver at least 14 votes for Enrile.

While Enrile has signed an earlier resolution endorsing Pangilinan’s bid for the Senate presidency, he said he could still change his mind if he were to be presented with an endorsement signed by at least 13 senators.

Pangilinan has claimed to already have 11 votes on his side, including his own. His supporters include LP partymates Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto and Teofisto Guingona III, and independent Senators Sergio Osmeña and Francis Escudero.

Pangilinan is also counting on the vote of detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes V. But whether he can attend the opening of the Senate session on Monday and take part in the election of the Senate president remains uncertain, as the Makati Regional Trial Court has yet to act on his motion to be allowed to post bail or to be granted a furlough.

Fel Maragay, Manila Standard