President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. admitted on Wednesday, May 29 that he is well aware that some senators have begun planning to oust former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri from his position.
President Marcos stated that he knew from the beginning that Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero was planning to lead the Senate.
“When did I know? The minute they started… actually, it was Senator Chiz (Escudero); the minute he started thinking about it, he brought it up. I think I’m going to try to lead the SP (Senate President)…” Marcos reveals.
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However, he said he has not yet talked to any parties because he was in Negros Oriental to personally distribute aid to farmers and fishermen affected by El Niño on May 20, when Senator Migz stepped down from leadership.
”And… I did not speak to any parties at any point simply because I was out of town. 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 nagchange na ba? ,” said Marcos.
“Well, mayroong gumagalaw… and when I landed back in Manila at three or four in the afternoon, saka lang, tapos na…” he added.
The president clarified that Malacañang had nothing to do with Zubiri’s ouster, emphasizing that the Senate’s decision prevailed.
It can be remembered that there were speculations that Malacañang was involved in the actions against the former Senate President. This is after Zubiri’s statement pointed out the independence of the Senate as an institution.
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”So, it’s hard for me to answer simply because I am not sure what he’s referring to because what instructions could that be? Yes, that’s still unclear to me what he’s referring to,” the president continues.
Marcos assured that he still has trust in Zubiri and that the senators’ vote did not reflect the president’s confidence in him.