House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is eyeing Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to be part of the ruling party’s bets in the upcoming senatorial elections in 2019.

Addressing guests at the 81st anniversary of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday, Alvarez said he would ask President Rodrigo Duterte to allow Aguirre to run for a Senate seat.

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The House leader said the Senate needs Aguirre for the upper chamber, which he earlier criticized for its slow action on bills, to be able to pass more laws.

Out of over a hundred approved bills the House of Representatives endorsed to the Senate, Alvarez pointed out that only about 10 have been enacted into laws.

“Susuportahan ko po yung kandidatura ni Vit Aguirre. Kakausapin ko po ang ating Pangulo kung pwede ipahiram muna si Sec. Vit Aguirre sa Senado upang bumilis –bilis naman ang pagpasa ng mga batas doon,” Alvarez said.

When asked what Aguirre’s reaction was to his proposal, Alvarez said in an ambush interview: “He (Aguirre) just smiled.”

Alvarez, however, clarified that nothing is final yet on the senatorial slate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

He said that the list is still subject to the final decision of the party leaders, in consultation with the Mr. Duterte, who chairs the party.

Recently, Alvarez nominated Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque to join PDP-Laban’s senatorial line-up.

Aside from Roque and Uson, Alvarez also named Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino as possible part of PDP-Laban’s Magic 12. /kga

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