Villar elected as new Senate Finance panel chair

SENATOR Mark A. Villar on Tuesday has been elected to lead the Senate Finance Committtee, which is tasked to deliberate the government’s annual spending plan.

The former chairperson of the Finance Committee Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian has also been assigned as the vice-chair. He also previously handled the Senate Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy Ad Hoc Committee established to address the oil crisis caused by the US-Israel and Iran war.

Mr. Villar is an addition to the pool of newly elected chairpersons of several permanent Senate panels since Monday.

Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta replaced Senator Rafael T. Tulfo for the Public Services committee.

Meanwhile, Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano retained chairmanship of the Energy, Ways and Means, and the Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking committees.

The Senate has yet to elect new chairpersons for a bulk of the Senate panels including the Blue Ribbon Committee, Economic Affairs, and Foreign Relations. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel