“I just got the notice that we will hold a majority caucus  Monday noon, where we hope to finalize the committee chairmanship assignments, and both Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Miriam Defensor Santiago will be there,” he added.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said  Wednesday the majority has decided on some chairmen, but could finalize the same because Santiago and Biazon were not around during their first caucus.
Drilon stressed they decided to make their list partial due to the absence of the two senators.

In the absence of the two, we could not finalize everything,” he explained. Biazon and Santiago said they could not attend because of speaking engagements.

Under the partial list, Sen. Joker Arroyo will retain the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon (fact-finding) Committee while the committees on agriculture and food, finance, and ways and means would be led by Senators Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Manuel Villar, and Ralph Recto, respectively. 

 Juan Flavier, on the other hand, would chair the committee on education. The committee on health and demography, which he handled in the 12th Congress, would go to Sen. Pia Cayetano.

The majority also nominated Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid for  chairmanship of the Senate committee on games and amusement, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. will get the public works committee, which his father chaired in the last Congress; Richard Gordon, for tourism  and Manuel Roxas III for trade and commerce.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, based on Senate tradition, would lead the rules committee.   Though Santiago voted against his Senate presidency, Drilon said, the Senate majority plans to give her committees since she belongs to the administration bloc. Santiago still regards herself as part of the majority.

“I asked if she would be interested in being given notices for future caucuses of the majority. She told me, if what you mean by that is do I consider myself as part of the majority, she said the answer was yes. She considers herself as part of the majority,” Pangilinan said.

Asked earlier about her preferred panels, Santiago revealed that she wanted Blue Ribbon or foreign relations.

Senate foreign relations committee chairman Manuel Villar,  said he would gladly yield his chairmanship to Santiago if she would ask for it.  He, however, said he would  firm up his clutches on his chairmanship of the Senate finance committee.

Senator Arroyo said he would yield to Santiago, provided no committee chairmanship is assigned to him.

“If that happens,  it would mean less work for me,’ Arroyo said. “So there’s no problem, if they take the (Blue Ribbon) committee from me,” the senator added.

More changes are in the offing, Pangilinan said, since some senators may want to swap panels.
“There might be some who wish to let go or are willing to let go of the committees they are heading,” he said.

Among the senators who wanted to get additional committees are Magsaysay and Recto.