Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice By Angie M. Rosales 07/26/2010

JINGGOY REMAINS PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice By Angie M. Rosales 07/26/2010 Undeclared candidate Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile will be named today Senate President of the 15th Congress after the two senators who have contested the position relented on their bids yesterday after failing to muster the necessary votes for the position. Pangilinan, the bet of President Aquino’s Liberal Party for the post, announced his withdrawal from the race early yesterday. Sen. Edgardo Angara later said that senators agreed unanimously to hand to Enrile the Senate presidency and that the voting today would be merely ceremonial and will be done through acclamation. This is the first time that a grand coalition is formed in the upper chamber, supporting a common candidate, Sen. Edgardo Angara said after attending a meeting with Enrile and colleagues in an undisclosed venue where they finalized committee assignments. “You can describe it as a grand coalition. All the blocs, all the parties all combined,” he said. Angara said they need not conduct an election during the ceremonial opening of the Senate session since 20 senators have already rallied behind Enrile’s presidency. This means that even the former aspirants, Pangilinan and Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party (NP), were among those who agreed in installing Enrile to the top Senate post. Angara, who was instrumental in the negotiations concerning the Senate presidency, conducting almost daily meetings with colleagues, also acknowledged the cooperation of Villar and his allies as well as those from the Liberal Party (LP).... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed1.html

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