MAJORITY of the senators expressed support for the new Senate President, Senator Juan Miguel Migs Zubiri, at the opening of the 19th Congress.

The senator from Bukidnon was elected as the new Senate Chief by his colleagues after six of the 24 senators nominated him for the post, which included Senator Joel Villanueva, Loren Legarda, Jose Jinggoy Estrada, Grace Poe, Sen. Ronald Bato dela Rosa, and Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said it is “time to buckle down to work.”

In his acceptance speech, Zubiri expressed his gratitude to his colleagues and said that the 19th Congress will be defined by the crises it must confront.

He enumerated the nation’s current crisis – food, fuel prices, fiscal, and “fading faith” of the Filipino people and the country’s institutions.

“On top of these is the COVID pandemic, which, courtesy of a mutating virus, will continue to disrupt lives and choke the economy before it can breathe its very last. But what it cannot suffocate, is the fighting spirit of a people whose virtues of hard work, solidarity, and compassion are greater than the virus at its vilest,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri said these challenges can be overcome by bold leaders, bold thinking, brave legislation, and bipartisanship in the “senate workshop of great ideas.”

He further added that under his leadership, the focus will be on problem-solving rather than finding faults. “While probes are magnets for publicity, I learned this from the father of Sonny Angara, Senator Ed Angara, it is the policies – laws are patiently written line by line away from the limelight – that drives progress,” he added.

In his statement, Zubiri said, “I shall repay that honor with hard work as your trabahador ng Senado,” as he vowed to legislate important measures to help the economy recover from the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and political conflicts.

Zubiri banged the gavel at 10:00 a.m. to signal the session’s opening. All 24 senators were present, signifying the return to normal proceedings from the previous virtual and hybrid sessions due to the pandemic.

Zubiri said he will maintain the Senate’s independence and prioritize passing the 2023 national budget to assist distressed industries and sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other political issues.

Sen. Joel Villanueva, who was the first to vote for Zubiri as the new Senate Chief, described the Senator from Mindanao as the most qualified and eligible to lead the upper chamber.

Several other senators agreed and no one contested while other senators like Senators Risa Hontiveros, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and siblings Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano abstained in the voting.

The Cayetanos said they would prefer to be independent but committed to helping the institution succeed.

During a press conference, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said he and sister Sen. Pia Cayetano decided not to be part of the majority nor the minority but instead remain independent and non-partisan as he described Philippine politics as very “toxic”.

“Partisanship would have some meaning. I think mas makakatulong kami by remaining independent and non-partisan. We can freely support and freely criticize. We will be a bridge between the majority and the small  minority,” Cayetano said.

He also revealed his first intention to be the minority leader, but Sen. Aquilino Koko Pimentel, he said, told his sister, Sen. Pia, that he is decided to be the minority leader.

“Open ako na minority leader pero desidido sya (Sen. Pimentel) na maging minority leader,” as he explained that it is just fine with him considering that former Sen. Serge Osmena III has done the same where he succeeded in working independently in the Senate.

Sen. Pimentel III, who Sen. Risa Hontiveros endorsed, was officially pronounced as the Minority leader who will only lead the 2-man minority bloc with Hontiveros as her only member.

Sen. Loren Legarda was elected Senate President Pro Tempore, while Sen. Joel Villanueva was elected as the Majority Leader. Also elected was Atty. Renato Bantug Jr. as the Senate Secretary.

In the 18th Congress, Zubiri served as the Senate Majority Floor Leader.

The new senators formally took their oath as the Senate opened its session. They are re-electionist Senators Zubiri, Villanueva, Hontiveros, and Win Garchalian; comebacking Senators Legarda, Francis Escudero, Cayetano (Alan Peter), Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Jinggoy Estrada; and neophyte Senators Robin Padilla, Raffy Tulfo, and Mark Villar.

Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara administered their oath.

Right after the suspension of the session, the Senators also participated in a photoshoot with their spouses.

After the morning session, the Senators proceeded to the House of Representatives for a joint session of Congress to listen to the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.