NEWSFLASH

VILLAR WILL HANDLE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE

Manila, August 10, 2002 (STAR) By Efren Danao - Senate President Pro Tempore Manuel Villar will give up his post to chair the powerful Senate committee on finance, Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda said yesterday.

The finance committee, the Senate counterpart of the House committee on appropriations, was yielded by opposition Sen. John Osmeña because of the emergence of a new majority.

Earlier, Villar said he would willingly give up the No. 2 post in favor of the chairmanship of the finance committee. He said he wanted more work and he had very little responsibilities as Senate president pro tempore, a largely ceremonial position.

Legarda said that Sen. Juan Flavier will succeed Villar as the No. 2 official of the Senate.

She added that the chairmanship of the agriculture committee, currently headed by Villar, will be taken over by Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., also chairman of the committees on defense, science and technology and banking.

The majority will decide in a caucus Monday on who would be the chairman of the foreign relations committee, a post vacated by Sen. Blas Ople after his appointment as foreign affairs secretary.

"I would have wanted to head the foreign relations committee, but Senate President Franklin Drilon said he wanted me to stay at my post," Legarda said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. will hand over his post to Sen. Vicente Sotto III. Pimentel, however, will not be left empty handed as he would get the chairmanship of the Senate committee on local government, formerly headed by Osmeña.

"We are all agreed on sharing committee work with the minority," Legarda explained.

Osmeña will in all probability retain the chairmanship of the committee on government corporations and public enterprises. The committee has primary jurisdiction over the resolution seeking to investigate the implementation of the Power Crisis Act, the Build-Operate-Transfer Law and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

The resolution also seeks to investigate former President Fidel Ramos, among other former officials, on the signing of alleged onerous contracts with independent power producers.

Sen. Robert Barbers asked Drilon the other day to explain why there was a decision to retain Osmeña without consultations. Barbers said he believed that Osmeña is qualified to head the questioned committee, but there was a procedure to be followed.

Drilon said that his decision was based on a Senate practice since the time of the late Senate President Marcelo Fernan allowing minority senators to head one committee each.

Sen. Renato Cayetano, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, said he would support the continued chairmanship of Osmeña of the committee on government corporations and public enterprises.

Cayetano said that although his committee has secondary jurisdiction over the resolution on Ramos’ investigation, he would let Osmeña go all alone so there would be no doubts that he or the other administration senators are stonewalling the probe of Ramos.

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Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi