AS expected, former Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri was elected as the new Senate President by acclamation Monday morning, shortly after the 19th Senate opened its first regular session.
The presiding officer during the nomination process was Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.
Comebacking Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who was earlier reported to be interested in being minority leader even as the Zubiri-led incoming majority also tried to reach out to him, manifested that he was not joining the voting process to install the new Senate President, so he is out of the majority. He said he prefers to be independent.
The Zubiri-led new Senate majority is expected to fill up the new assignments of committee chairmanships on Tuesday, though most of the key committee posts have already been spoken for.