Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson dismissed as “pure hogwash” the alleged moved to oust Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile.
“I can categorically state that there is absolutely no move from anyone, much less from Malacanang to oust Senate President Enrile,” Lacson said.
“It is absurd to even imagine Pnoy [President Benigno Aquino III] putting pressure on the senators in order to secure a conviction. He came from our ranks and knows the mentality of the Senate,” he said.
Even former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo “with all her diabolical posturing during the height of her power,” Lacson said, failed to contain the majority of senators under Enrile’s leadership.
The only possible power grab at this point would necessarily come from the administration party and as an ally, he said, he should be a natural magnet for recruitment.
But Lacson said he has yet to hear at least an overture from any of those planning to oust Enrile.
“It is unfair to every senator to even speculate on the matter of recruitment in relation to the impeachment. A great majority of us in the upper chamber are not for sale. That I can say with authority,” Lacson added.