Senate to come up with final list of committee chairmanships Monday

MANILA, Nov. 21 (PNA) -- The final list of the chairmanships of various Senate committees will be discussed on Monday, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Thursday.

”We will work on it the next few days. There will be a meeting on Monday and the main agenda is committee chairmanships,” Enrile said.

Among the senators, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson got three committees to chair -- Committee on Accounts, Ways and Means, and Ethics.

The most coveted committee, the Blue Ribbon, is a toss up between Sen. Richard Gordon and Sen. Francis Escudero, Enrile said.

However, he said Gordon is most likely to get the chairmanship.

”Both Sen. Gordon and Sen. (Francis) Escudero are qualified for the said committee because they are lawyers,” Enrile said.

He also said he will not impede the ongoing Senate investigations on the fertilizer fund scam and the euro-generals issue, saying they will continue with the probe.

This also include the complaint filed by Sen. Jamby Madrigal before the Senate ethics committee against Villar for his alleged involvement in the double insertion of budget for the C-5 road extension project in Paranaque City.

"I'm not going to cover up anyone if they're guilty, they have to answer to the people," he said.

Villar resigned as Senate president after he learned that 14 of his colleagues were to oust him Monday. Enrile replaced him.

For his part, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said Sen. Panfilo Lacson should inhibit himself from hearing the ethics complaint against Villar to avoid any bias since he was one of the senators who linked Villar to alleged double insertion.

Sen. Pia Cayetano was the former ethics committee head.