MANILA, Philippines—A coup in the Senate Monday catapulted to the top position of the chamber Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the leaders of a military revolt in 1986 that led to the Edsa People Power Revolution and the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos.

It was Sen. Gregorio Honasan, leader of several failed coup attempts against the Aquino administration and aide to Enrile in 1986, who swore in Enrile as the new Senate president.

Enrile, 84, enforcer of martial law during the Marcos regime as defense minister, is a staunch ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Manuel Villar Jr. lost his grip on power in the Senate after a majority of his colleagues, including his erstwhile allies like Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, unseated him.

Among those who supported Villar’s ouster were senators, who are expected to either run for president or vice president, like Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero.

Villar, head of the Nacionalista Party, formally declared his intention to run for president in 2010 a few months ago, the first made by a presidential aspirant.

C-5 controversy

The plot to oust Villar, which Sen. Panfilo Lacson said had been “a work in progress since the C-5 controversy,” was said to have been hatched over the weekend and was finalized at noon Monday, with 13 senators signing a resolution to oust Villar.

The C-5 controversy refers to Lacson’s accusation that Villar had initiated the double entry in the national budget for the extension of the C-5 road in the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas.

Villar has been accused of benefiting from the C-5 extension project as this passed through property owned by his real estate firms.

There had been three attempts to oust Villar from the top Senate post. The plotters succeeded in their fourth try and according to them, Villar’s involvement in the C-5 road extension project became a factor in their support for his ouster.

Delayed session

The session was delayed by more than an hour as Villar met with Senators Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Francis Pangilinan in his office. Villar then announced his resignation.

“I have been informed just this afternoon that I no longer have the support of the majority of my colleagues,” a sad-looking Villar said in a speech he delivered as soon as he presided over the session.

“I now tender my resignation,” he said. Villar congratulated Enrile and vowed support for him “in seeing to it that this chamber continue to maintain its unquestionable independence and its solid reputation as a bulwark of democracy.”

Villar stepped down from the podium and went to the senators to shake hands and thank those who supported him until the end.

Fourteen for Enrile

In a vote that ensued after Lacson moved to declare the top Senate post vacant and nominated Enrile, 14 senators voted for Enrile. Six abstained in the 23-member chamber.

Only Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a staunch supporter of Villar, was absent at Monday’s session. As of press time, she had not signified whether she was supporting the new leadership.

Besides Roxas, Legarda, Escudero, Lacson and Estrada, the other senators who voted for Enrile taking over the Senate presidency were Honasan, Edgardo Angara, Rodolfo Biazon, Richard Gordon, Lito Lapid, Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Those who abstained were Senators Joker Arroyo, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the Cayetano siblings, Pangilinan and Pimentel.

Acceptance speech

After the voting, Honasan swore in Enrile as the new Senate president.

“With sincere gratitude and in all humility, I accept the responsibility and trust that the majority of you, my peers, has entrusted and reposed upon me today,” Enrile said in a speech.

He said he never sought the position of Senate president.

“Allow me this opportunity to ask you, my colleagues, to forgive my shortcomings,” he said. “I am an old man who has acquired some bad habits of sometimes being arrogant, rude, harsh with my words, insensitive and impatient.

“Yet, you have so kindly overlooked these shortcomings, and generously chose me to be your leader,” he said.

Politics at its best, worst

“To my good friend, Sen. Manny Villar, I would like to say ‘Thank you.’ You have always shown me kindness, candor, trust and respect. I have seen politics at its best and worst. But even at its worst, politics cannot destroy true friendships. I am hopeful that ours will remain,” Enrile said.

Villar’s allies said they were “caught off guard” by the move to oust him, although they had been hearing rumblings as early as Monday.

Not interested

After he took his oath, Enrile said on dzMM radio that he had been approached about the top Senate post.

“I told them I am not interested with this job. I am no longer as young as I want to be but they continued and I told them, ‘OK, if you have the numbers you come back to me and we will discuss it,”’ he said.

“Finally, Monday afternoon, they called me that they have the numbers and I said give me a signed resolution of the people who would like me to take over the leadership and then I will think about it,” Enrile said.

Gracious

Enrile said he was presented Monday morning with a resolution with the signature of 12 senators.

“I said OK I will take it up with the Senate president and present this problem to him. So, I took it up with the Senate president [Monday] afternoon before the session opened and he graciously decided to resign and relinquish the position because according to him he did not have anymore the support of the majority,” Enrile said.

Asked about who led the collection of signatures, Enrile said: “I don’t know.”

When confronted by reporters, Lacson said he did not want to make any comment because he did not want to lie.

“I lost Chiz and Jinggoy,” Villar said sadly shortly before he announced that he was stepping down. “I have no problem (with that).”

Relieved

Villar said he actually felt “relieved” and added he had “my reasons” for saying so.

“I’ll have more time to campaign, more time for my family, I’m happy,” Villar said.

Interviewed over ANC television, Villar said he believed his loss of the top Senate post would be good for his campaign for the presidency in 2010.

Free, more time

Villar said he would have more time to do many things which he could not do when he was a Senate president.

“You can’t say much when you’re Senate president because you have to balance everything. At least now I can say I am free and have more time,” he said.

“Right now, I feel I’m free and that’s why I’m not that sad,” he said.

Charter change

Alan Peter Cayetano saw political maneuvering behind the coup.

“The good faith assumption there is [that it’s because] simple leadership style. People are willing to try a different leadership style. But it might be more than about leadership; there’s politics and political arrangements that are happening,” he said.

Cayetano, former blue ribbon committee chair, said the chamber must keep watch of three matters under an Enrile presidency—moves for Charter change, the Senate investigations of anomalies and the replacement of seven retiring Supreme Court justices.

Lacson said Villar’s ouster had nothing to do with the presidential election.

Save institution

Lacson said “foremost” on the minds of those who sought a change in leadership in the chamber was to save the institution.

He said it was probably the “dynamism” in the Senate that led to the abrupt change in leadership.

“We cannot explain why Senators Estrada and Escudero would join the new majority … Most if not all senators are really independent-minded,” he said.

He said Malacañang had nothing to do with the Senate coup, noting that some Palace allies were not included in the 13 who signed the resolution.

Lacson, Legarda and Angara said Enrile became their choice to replace Villar because he was “acceptable” and very qualified for the job.

“Senator Enrile is the only one we saw to make the Senate an independent institution. He told us he will fight for the independence of the Senate,” Lacson said.

Roxas said the change in the Senate leadership came because the majority thought this was the time for change to happen.