When the Senate of the 20th Congress convenes for the first time on Monday, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson will be part of the Senate’s “conscience bloc.”

Lacson said Saturday that the bloc will also include former Senate Presidents Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Juan Miguel Zubiri, along with Loren Legarda – and possibly Risa Hontiveros.

He said that while the bloc will not likely be part of the majority, he hopes its name will become infectious and encourage the other senators to be conscientious.

“We hope the bloc becomes infectious. We are not saying those who don’t join us do not have a conscience. But we want those with a conscience to share our advocacies. If they don’t believe in our bloc, we are not forcing them to join,” he said in Filipino in an interview on DWIZ radio.

Lacson also reiterated that he is prepared to remain a fiscalizer and pursue his advocacies regardless of whether he is in the majority or minority bloc, having passed key laws as a member of the minority.

He said that when he was given a committee that some deemed insignificant – the Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization – he managed to pass several important measures including the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, as well as the Philippine Dental Act of 2007 and the Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines, among others.

“To me it doesn’t matter. We can make any committee become productive if we work hard,” he said.