Marcos Jr. says he was ‘informed every step of the way’ in Senate shakeup

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Marcos Jr. says he was ‘informed every step of the way’ in Senate shakeup

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated May 29, 2024 04:17 PM PHT

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that while he had no hand in the recent change of leadership in the Senate, he had been “informed every step of the way.” 

Marcos said he was informed in advance about which senators were backing Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s bid for the Senate presidency.

The President added that Escudero himself “brought it up” and asked what the Chief Executive thought of his plan to climb to the top Senate post.

“I did not speak to any parties at that point simply because I was out of town,” Marcos told reporters here. “We knew the state of the voting when that was still being collected by Sen. Chiz. Alam na namin kung ano yung lalabas na numero.” 

“I was basically informed every step of the way, but it moved so quickly as well,” he said.

Earlier this month, Sen. Migz Zubiri stepped down from the Senate Presidency a few hours before his peers in the chamber could replace him.

The lawmaker from Bukidnon had claimed that he might have lost the trust and confidence of the “powers that be.” 

Zubiri reportedly failed to stop Senate hearings that linked the President to the use of illegal drugs and also fell short in rallying the chamber to pass a charter change measure.

Marcos Jr. said that it remains unclear what Zubiri meant when he attributed his removal from the Senate Presidency to his failure to deliver the expectations of “powers that be.”

“I guess if you are Senate President, the only power that be is the President… but I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him [Zubiri] about it,” Marcos Jr. said.

“The last time I spoke to him, we talked about the procurement law and this has not come up,” he said.

When asked if he still had trust and confidence in Zubiri, Marcos Jr. said: “The decision to change the leadership was not made by me.”

“It was made by the senators so that does not change my view of Sen. Zubiri.”


Zubiri declined to comment on Marcos’ remark. 


"No comment na lang ako diyan sa kanila bahala na sila ang taongbayan ang humusga, " Zubiri told media.


Zubiri is leaving for a 3-week vacation to give himself time to heal after his colleagues replaced him with Escudero last week. 


"All personal yung aking pagbiyahe kasama ng aking pamilya. Konting me time, konting emotional and mental break from all the politics and the nasty backstabbing na nangyayari dito sa pulitika natin sa Pilipinas so kaya napapansin ninyo di muna ako nagsasalita about saan kami pupunta," Zubiri said, "I'm on vacation mode for the next 3 weeks."


Zubiri said he and his allies would regroup after the break and decide on whether they will remain an independent bloc in the Escudero-led majority or the join the minority bloc of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III.


-- With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

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