(UPDATE) A GROUP of senators calling themselves the 'Solid 7' is studying the possibility of joining the minority bloc.The group, previously called the 'Magic 7' by its leader, ousted Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri, has for its members Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Juan Edgardo Angara, Sherwin Gatchalian and Nancy Binay.Legarda, Villanueva, and Ejercito resigned as Senate president pro tempore, majority leader and deputy majority leader, respectively, following Zubiri's ouster on Monday.The coup against Zubiri was led by Sen. Francis Escudero who took over the Senate leadership with the help of 13 senators who signed the petition unseating Zubiri.'At the moment, we're still studying whether they will join the minority. So that is still an option for us,' Binay said in Filipino and English in a radio interview Thursday.The two-man minority bloc is composed of Aquilino Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros.Asked whether the Solid 7 will have more members, Binay said, 'It depends. If they find our group is better, I'm sure they might think about joining us.''If you'll analyze the current composition of the Senate, technically we're the biggest bloc,' she said.'We're seven, then the Apat na Sikat [Famous Four bloc] has four [members]. Then there's the PDP (Partido Demokratikong Pilipino [bloc]) I think, they are three,' Binay said.Counting the Nacionalista Party (NP) which has three or four members, and the two minority members, 'we are the biggest group,' she said.The Apat na Sikat is composed of former action stars Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Manuel Lapid and Robinhood Padilla.The PDP bloc in the Senate is made up of Majority Leader Francis Tolentino and Senators Bong Go and Ronald dela Rosa.The NP has Senators Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Pia Cayetano and Imee Marcos.On the last session day of the second regular session of the 19th Congress on Wednesday, the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report harmonizing the divergent versions of Senate Bill 2593 and House Bill 9648 or the New Government Procurement Act.Angara, head of the Senate contingent in the bicameral conference, said the report was 'the result of hard work and dedication' of both the House and the Senate.Angara said the report adopted most, if not all, of the provisions in the Senate version, as he thanked Escudero for allowing him to continue the sponsorship of the landmark measure.'This is a clear sign that even if there is a change in leadership, the Senate, as an institution, will continue to promote important laws for the development of the country,' Angara said.
