Mark Villar joins Senate majority

Senator Mark Villar has joined the majority bloc, which is allied with the administration, bringing its membership to 14. The move came during a brief plenary session Thursday, shortly before the Senate resumed Day 36 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

It was not formally announced on the floor, but Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri confirmed that Villar was “part of the majority” after his election as chair of the Senate Public Works Committee and as a member of the Commission on Appointments.

Villar’s move came less than a month after the Ombudsman launched a preliminary probe into graft and administrative complaints against members of the Villar family over their water utility company, PrimeWater.

His sister, Sen. Camille Villar, remains in the minority bloc led by Sen. Alan Cayetano.

The crossover came as the Senate sees the end of Duterte’s impeachment trial, although Zubiri denied it was linked to efforts to secure votes for the Vice President’s conviction.

“Senator Mark has been in the majority anyway from the very beginning,” Zubiri said. “It has nothing to do [with the impeachment trial] whatsoever. You know, being a member of the majority doesn’t automatically mean you will vote for conviction.”

One more?

Sen. Raffy Tulfo did not rule out another minority senator switching blocs but declined to identify the lawmaker.

“I’m not gonna tell you. It might be preempted, but I think there probably is (another senator),” Tulfo said. “When? Time will tell.”

His remarks fueled speculation that Sen. Loren Legarda might rejoin the majority after leaving the bloc on 11 May to support Cayetano’s election to the Senate presidency vice then Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

Legarda has been on medical leave abroad since 3 August but has reportedly maintained contact with her former colleagues in the majority.

Mark Villar’s departure leaves Cayetano’s minority faction with 10 members, two of whom — Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta — are detained on plunder charges, while Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa remains in hiding from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

Villar’s shift further weakens the Cayetano-led bloc’s opposition to lowering the conviction threshold for Duterte.

Administration senators, however, have maintained that they merely amended the required number of votes and that detained or hiding senators could still vote if they personally appear on judgment day, tentatively set for late November.

‘Unchanged duty’

Cayetano wished Villar well but said his departure would not diminish the minority’s role as “fiscalizers and constructive oppositionists.”

“We understand all too well the circumstances and considerations that lead to changes in political alliances. Since 11 May, it has become increasingly clear how important it is for this administration to maintain a closely allied working majority in the Senate,” Cayetano said.

“But regardless of how the political landscape shifts, our duty remains unchanged. We will continue to stand for what is right, uphold our institutions, and work for the good of our nation,” he added.

Villar’s move was not entirely unexpected. On 23 September, he was the only minority senator to vote for reversing the 6 July ruling that effectively lowered the number of votes needed to convict Duterte from 16, which with his move is now down to 14. -