4 senators in anti-Villar core group
By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:44:00 11/18/2008
Filed Under: Congress, Politics
MANILA, Philippines—The ouster of Senate President Manuel Villar did not happen overnight.
A confluence of events led to the downfall of Villar, who has announced he will run for president in 2010.
The core group—Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal—started talking about leadership change as early as two months ago when Villar was linked to the “double” funding for the C-5 road extension project in Parañaque and Las Piñas cities, which benefited his real estate property empire.
“Senators Jamby and Ping Lacson played a pivotal role. Without the discovery by Senator Ping of the double insertion, this could happen much, much longer,” Legarda told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.
Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Juan Miguel Zubiri were quick to join the oust-Villar group.
“No one,” Legarda said when asked if her group had a leader.
Even newly elected Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was belatedly told about the plot.
“But he (Enrile) knew it was coming in the past weeks, especially with the C-5 scandal,” Legarda said.
Asked about the justification for Villar’s ouster, Legarda said that in the eyes of “senators and the people” Villar had already lost the “moral ascendancy” to lead the chamber.
Weighed down by his political ambition, Villar could not be trusted anymore to lead a Senate that “is dynamic, visionary, proactive and hardworking—a Senate that would truly serve the interest of the Filipino people,” she said.
Legarda said the Senate should be worthy of the people’s trust and support. “We must have a Senate that is committed to fairness, statesmanship, and we must put national interest above political gain or expediency,” she said.
Core group
The core group of senators then clandestinely worked hard to convince senators supportive of Villar to “strengthen the institution,” Legarda said.
Slowly but surely, the group managed to get the backing of Senators Edgardo Angara, Richard Gordon, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Lito Lapid.
But the group needed the last crucial votes to obtain 13 votes, the majority required to topple a president and declare all seats vacant in the 23-member chamber.
A senator, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the success of the ouster plot depended on the group’s ability to enlist the support of Enrile, Gregorio Honasan, Francis Escudero and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada.
Toss-up
The senator said that there was a toss-up between Enrile and Angara for the Senate presidency.
“They needed Honasan who, however, is committed to Villar. But if Enrile runs for SP (Senate presidency), he has a reason to leave Villar’s camp,” the senator said, noting that Honasan owed his political career to Enrile following the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
During the month-long break, Estrada got wind of the ouster move, albeit from other sources.
The group had hesitated to approach him at first because the senator’s father, former President Joseph Estrada, is close to Villar.
When the younger Estrada consulted Enrile about this, the latter told the group that he would only say yes if it could convince Estrada to jump ship.
But Enrile never coveted the position, said the senator who asked not to be named.
The senator recalled Enrile as saying that he would “seriously” think about the offer if the group could muster the majority vote.
It was Enrile who had pointed out that the chamber was no longer functioning as expected by the public because of politicking.
He even suggested to have the sessions extended until Friday to enable the Senate to perform its legislative as well as investigative functions.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate hold sessions from Monday to Wednesday.
Until the last minute, the group was still unsure where Escudero’s loyalty lay. When he sensed that the tide had changed, he had to go with the flow.
“It came too fast,” Estrada said.
Party mate
Estrada said he voted for Enrile because they belonged to the same party—the Partido ng Masang Pilipino.
“Somebody made a phone call to me last night. I will not reveal the person, of course. I didn’t agree right away because I was having some reservation,” he said.
He was facing a dilemma. “Senator Villar is very close to me. I was praying (yesterday) morning that I would make the right decision,” said Estrada, personally handpicked by Villar to be the Senate President pro tempore last year.
But in the end, party loyalty prevailed.
“He (Enrile) will not compromise the Senate,” said Estrada who had thought of resigning his post, but was prevailed upon by Enrile to stay put.
And when everything fell into place, they went for the kill.
The 14-6 voting on the floor was anticlimactic as far as the people behind the coup were concerned, most of whom have set their sight on the presidency as well.
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