The balance of power in the Senate shifted again on Thursday, October 8, 2026. Sen. Mark Villar formally moved from the minority bloc to the majority and was handed the chairmanship of the powerful Committee on Public Works. According to Philstar.com and GMA News, the Senate also seated him as a member of the Commission on Appointments.
The move leaves the minority smaller and, in practical terms, thinner still. By GMA News’ count, the majority bloc now stands at 14 members, while the minority has 10, four of whom are not attending sessions.
A Reshuffle Announced on the Floor
Philstar.com, in a report by Cristina Chi, said Villar regained the chairship of the Senate public works committee in his jump to the majority. Majority Leader Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri confirmed the switch during Thursday’s plenary session. He also announced Villar’s election as chair of the public works panel, replacing Sen. Tito Sotto.
GMA News reported that Zubiri moved for the election and that no one objected. Zubiri was quoted by GMA News as saying: “Yes. We just elected him to the CA and Public Works committee as part of the majority.”
The changes did not stop at the public works committee. Philstar.com reported that Villar was elected to the Commission on Appointments, replacing Zubiri. Minority Leader Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano was also elected as a CA member, replacing Sen. Loren Legarda. Philstar.com noted that Mark’s sister, Sen. Camille Villar, remains in the Cayetano-led minority.
What Led to the Switch
Villar’s departure from the minority did not come out of nowhere. Philstar.com noted that he had earlier broken with the minority bloc during the impeachment court’s deliberations on whether to do away with the fixed 16-vote threshold for convicting Vice President Sara Duterte. Villar voted in favor of allowing the court to interpret with flexibility the Constitution’s requirement of conviction by “two-thirds of all members” of the Senate.
GMA News added that Villar formally left the minority two weeks after he voted to support a motion to appeal the July 6 decision. That decision had originally fixed the conviction threshold in the Vice President’s impeachment trial at 16 votes, or two-thirds of the entire 24-member Senate.
A Minority Down to 10, With Four Missing
For the minority bloc, the arithmetic is difficult. GMA News reported that the minority now has 10 members, but four of them are not attending sessions. The outlet listed the circumstances:
- Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained over separate plunder charges.
- Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is in hiding amid an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
- Sen. Loren Legarda has been on extended medical leave for months.
The Ombudsman Probe in the Background
The reshuffle also arrives alongside a separate legal matter involving the Villar family. Philstar.com reported that both Villar siblings, Mark and Sen. Camille, face an Ombudsman probe for alleged violations of the anti-graft law. The probe concerns joint ventures by their former water utility firm, PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.
According to Philstar.com, the Ombudsman also named former Senators Manny and Cynthia Villar, businessman Manuel Paolo Villar, and PrimeWater executives Fe Reblancos and Romeo Sabater as respondents in criminal and administrative complaints. PrimeWater is accused of entering deals with local water districts between 2015 and 2022 that were skewed against the government’s interest. The agreements under scrutiny were signed during Mark Villar’s term as public works secretary and his membership on the board of the Local Water Utilities Administration.
These are allegations only. Nothing in the reports establishes that any wrongdoing has been proven, and every named respondent is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
The record, as reported by Philstar.com and GMA News, shows a vote, a formal change of bloc two weeks later, and a quick round of committee and Commission on Appointments assignments approved without objection. The record also shows an Ombudsman probe, still at the allegation stage, involving the same family and a firm the siblings formerly held.
What the Numbers Mean for the Chamber
For the minority, led by Cayetano, the loss of a member is compounded by the absences. A bloc of 10 that cannot seat four of its members is, in effect, a bloc of six on the floor. The majority, with 14, faces no such strain on the numbers reported.
Whether the Senate’s new alignment changes the course of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte is something the reports do not address, and this article does not speculate. What the reports do establish is that the chamber’s balance has moved, that a senator facing an unproven Ombudsman probe has taken a major committee chairmanship, and that the minority has fewer voices available in the room than its headcount suggests.
Voters will likely keep watching how each senator votes, which bloc they sit with, and how the Ombudsman case develops. For now, the facts are limited to what was announced on the floor on Thursday, and the allegations remain just that: allegations.
Sources
- https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/10/08/2561794/mark-villar-reclaims-public-works-chairship-switch-majority-bloc
- https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/1005209/mark-villar-moves-to-senate-majority-elected-public-works-chairman-ca-member/story/
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