MANILA PHILIPPINES – Former Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri admitted on tuesday that he lost his leadership in the senate by defending Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Zubiri made the admission after learning that Dela Rosa was one of the 15 senators who signed a resolution supporting the newly seated senate president, Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
Zubiri said this is the reason why he was stunned after learning that dela rosa was one of the fifteen senators who voted to oust him as president of the senate.
“I thought I’ve seen strange things in my political career. And this happens to be the strangest,” Zubiri said in an interview with him.
Dela Rosa is the chairman of the Senate public order and dangerous drugs committee, which held several committee hearings on the alleged PDEA leak documents linking the name of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., regarding illegal drugs.
“At least he knows that I defended him as a chairman of the committee, and because of that, there was a sacrifice. I am a sacrifice there. I lost the position,” zubiri added.
Bato, was seen weeping in the background during Zubiri’s speech on Monday.
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In an ambush interview with Zubiri, he said that Dela Rosa tried to talk to him after the vote for the senate president.
“Hindi ko pa talaga ma-process yung pangyayari. Give me time. Niyakap mo pa yung asawa ko. Wow, ba’t nyo pa niyakap ang asawa ko,” he lamented referring to his wife Audrey Tan Zubiri who comforted a crying dela Rosa following his ouster.
Dela Rosa apologized to Zubiri, saying he failed to defend the latter from the plot to unseat him.
“Being a good soldier, I wanted to tell him, ‘My commander, sorry, boss, I failed to win the war for you,’” Dela Rosa said in a press briefing.