Christine Avendaño, Christian V. EsguerraPhilippine Daily InquirerJuly 5, 2010  MANILA, Philippines—So what if they’re that close?Both the Palace and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan Sunday downplayed fears that giving him the Senate presidency would compromise the chamber’s independence considering the key role he played in President Benigno Aquino III’s campaign in the

Delon PorcallaThe Philippine StarJuly 05, 2010MANILA, Philippines – The legislative program of President Aquino would be better addressed if the Senate president and speaker of the House were his allies and friends, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.In an interview yesterday over government-owned radio dzRB, Lacierda said it has been

A. M. G. Roa   Business WorldJuly 4, 2010 A GROUP of seven senators which is seen to provide “swing votes” in the race for the Senate leadership will discuss with Liberal Party (LP) bet Francis N. Pangilinan leadership standards, a member of the group said yesterday.”We will sit down with Kiko

Jerrie AbellaGMANews.TVJuly 4, 2010 Despite his close ties with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday vowed an “independent” Senate if ever he becomes head of the chamber in the 15th Congress.“I assure our colleagues in the Senate and our people that while I firmly believe that

Marvin SyThe Philippine StarJuly 4, 2010MANILA, Philippines – The tables seem to have turned on Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. in his bid to regain the Senate presidency now that the Liberal Party (LP) has finally made up its mind on its candidate for the position.Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who was chosen

ABS-CBNNews.comJuly 4, 2010MANILA, Philippines – While Quezon City Representative Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte, Jr. has virtually secured the House Speaker position, party-mate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan needs 4 more votes for his own bid in the Senate.Pangilinan needs to woo some more of his colleagues to ensure a win as Senate President,

Michael Lim UbacPhilippine Daily InquirerJuly 4, 2010  THE BLOC OF FIVE SENATORS HEADED BY VETERAN SEN. Edgardo Angara Saturday played hard to get a day after Sen. Francis Pangilinan, party mate of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, formally launched his bid for the Senate presidency.Instead of throwing his support behind Pangilinan,

Bernadette E. TamayoPeople’s JournalJuly 4, 2010SENATOR Francis Pangilinan will push for weekly coordination meetings between officials of both Upper and Lower Chambers of Congress to speed up the legislative mill.He stressed the need to have better coordination between the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress which

Marlon PurificacionJournal Online  July 4, 2010SENATOR  Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan yesterday said  his closeness to President Noynoy Aquino is based on their common vision for the country and therefore “ought to be viewed as a plus and not a minus in a bid to win the Senate presidency and  desire to