By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. admitted knowing about the attempt to change the leadership in the Senate but denied having a hand on it.
In a media briefing on the sidelines of his state visit to Brunei Darussalam on Wednesday, President Marcos confirmed he was aware of efforts to unseat then Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri as Sen. Francis Escudero informed him that he would try to vie for the post.
“When did I know? The minute they started…Actually, it was Senator Chiz the minute he started thinking about it, he already brought it up and he said I think I am going to try to be the SP: ‘What’s my situation? What do you think?” Marcos told reporters.
The President clarified that he did not speak to any of the parties as he was out of town. However, he was informed about the state of the voting from the moment Escudero consulted him.
“Alam na namin kung ano ‘yung lalabas na numero. So, to that extent we were well-informed about what was happening,” he continued.
“If you remember on that day, noong umaga, I was asked if I would issue a statement on the change of leadership and I said, ‘Bakit? Nag-change na ba?’ Sabi nila: ‘Well, mayroong gumagalaw,” Marcos recalled.
The Chief Executive said he only received the news that Zubiri had stepped down from the post when he arrived in Manila.
To recall, Escudero replaced Zubiri as senate president after the latter resigned from his post on May 20 — also the day when Marcos went to Tacloban and Dumaguete to distribute aid to El Niño-hit sectors.
“So, that’s the extent — that‘s how…I was basically informed at every step of the way but it moves so quickly as well,” Marcos added.
Meanwhile, when asked if he still trusts Zubiri, the President answered yes, and that the change in the Senate leadership does not reflect his confidence in him.
“The decision to change the leadership is not made by me. It was made by the senators. So, that does not reflect on my view on Senator Migz and the trust and confidence that — in my view were — that I have in him,” Marcos said.
‘Powers that be’
In a speech, Zubiri alluded to outside forces as the reason behind his ouster as senate president, saying he “failed to follow instructions from the powers that be,” and that is probably why he met his “demise”.
However, Marcos said he did not know what Zubiri was referring to.
“I guess if you’re Senate President, the only ‘power that be’ is the President. So, I’m not sure what he is referring to. If that is a specific instance or just as a general principle, I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him about it,” the President said.
“So, it’s hard for me to answer, simply because I’m not quite sure what he’s referring to because — what instructions could there be that hindi niya natapos. Yes, that’s still unclear to me what he was referring to,” he added. – avds
