Delicadeza NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 06/22/2010

Delicadeza

NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 06/22/2010 As others grapple with whether to yellow or not to yellow come the June 30 inauguration of the incoming administration, in Congress factions are intensely preparing —scheming is perhaps the better word — to elect their leaders. In the upper house, an emissary is supposed to have been sent to woo Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile’s vote for Sen. Manuel Villar’s “return of the comeback” to the Senate presidency, but the re-elected senator is not biting. “Nothing personal,” media reports my brother to have clarified. “This has to do with delicadeza.” Recall that sometime in November of 2008, 13 senators — Mar Roxas, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Ping Lacson, Jamby Madrigal, Lito Lapid, Greg Honasan, Bong Revilla, Rodolfo Biazon, Dick Gordon, Miguel Zubiri, Edgardo Angara and Loren Legarda — ousted Villar and installed JPE Senate president. Nine were pinpointed to have instigated the ouster: Roxas, Lacson, Madrigal, Honasan, Biazon, Gordon, Zubiri, Angara and Legarda. Escudero, Lapid, Revilla and Estrada were the late additions that comprised the 13 necessary votes. Then, as now, 13 can make or break a Senate chief, so who says it’s unlucky? Senator-siblings Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano stayed on Villar’s side, as did Joker Arroyo, Nene Pimentel and Francis Pangilinan. Noy Aquino abstained and Miriam Santiago was absent. That was how loyalties ran then. A year later, Legarda made a complete turn-around to be on the Villar side of things, without so much as “ni ha, ni ho.” As did Angara, and, according to some quarters, history will judge them, I won’t. This now is a different ball game, there will be a loyalty shift.  For starters, Roxas, Madrigal, Gordon, Biazon, Pimentel and Aquino are no longer in the Senate; Bongbong Marcos and TG Guingona III are in; Frank Drilon, Tito Sotto and Ralph Recto are back; Lacson is yet to resurface; Antonio Trillanes IV still can’t vote; Honasan is again in JPE’s group, which includes Sotto and Estrada. “We will decide who to align with,” JPE explains. “We will vote as a bloc, that’s our agreement.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100622com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Poor excuse FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Israelis flock ‘back’ to Germany MR. EXPOSE P-Noy losing allies NO HOLDS BARRED Delicadeza AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Electoral statistics and the beautiful game focus US signals better relations with Israel