A joke that turned into a Senate ‘coup’ plot

MANILA, Philippines—Could it be that a salutation made in jest during a Liberal Party gathering sparked the rumors of a Senate coup now shaking the chamber?

An LP insider who attended the party’s oath-taking ceremony cum Christmas party two weeks ago recalled that President Aquino and Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas kept addressing Sen. Franklin Drilon as “SP,” a reference to whoever was the Senate President.

“Senator Drilon appeared amused.  He was smiling then,” the witness said.

The incident occurred at the Balay residence, a landmark in Cubao owned by the Araneta clan, on the night of December 5, Monday.

Roxas is a scion of the wealthy Araneta family.

Drilon failed to attend another Christmas party that LP and other administration-friendly senators hosted for Senate reporters that night because of this.

Asked to comment on the account given by the witness, Drilon immediately dismissed it saying the President and Roxas have been calling him SP “for (years) now as a sign of cariño as I held that post for over five (years).”

“Don’t give it any meaning. Nothing to it,” he added.

Drilon also requested a stop to talks of a Senate coup “as there is absolutely no basis.”

Drilon was Senate President from April to November 2000, during the entire 12th Congress.

He was also Senate President for most part of the 13th Congress from July 2004 to July 2006.

Roxas was a senator during the 13th and 14th Congresses while President Aquino spent three years in the Senate during the 14th Congress from 2007 to 2010.

The current Senate President, Juan Ponce Enrile, hinted late last week that some quarters have been apparently interested in his position and that he has been training his Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on the rules of evidence “if something happens to me.”

Enrile made this statement in another Christmas party, which he and Estrada hosted along with Senator Gregorio Honasan for Senate reporters on the night of December 15, Thursday.

When Estrada took the microphone after Enrile, he said there have indeed been “reports that many senators want to become Senate President, but they will not get the position.”

There are speculations that Malacañang wants to replace Enrile to ensure that a political ally would preside over the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona and ensure his conviction. The Senate president has the power to rule on questions of procedure during the trial and can even issue contempt citations on the conduct of people involved in the process.

The trial starts in January.

But in a subsequent interview on Sunday, Estrada distanced Malacañang from the alleged effort to replace Enrile.

“Malacañang would not do that, believe me. I don’t think those in the Palace are that narrow-minded,” he said.

According to Estrada, there is no plot against Enrile for now.

“I did not say anything about a plot to remove Manong Johnny (a reference to Enrile). What I said was that in case he is replaced as Senate President, I will join him and also relinquish my post as Senate President Pro Tempore. I will not leave his side,” Estrada explained.

The senator also said he has not heard of an “actual recruitment” for a new Senate majority block that would replace the one Enrile has been heading.

Enrile leads the Senate as a compromise between the group of Sen. Manuel Villar, also a former Senate President, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan who sought to create a new majority at the start of the Aquino administration but failed.

Villar heads the Nacionalista Party while Pangilinan belongs to the LP.

“But there will always be rumors (‘lagi na lang may ugong’),” Estrada warned.

“Besides, anyone who can gather 13 signatures in support of a new Senate President can always have the post…Many of our colleagues are really interested in becoming Senate President,” he added.

Estrada has clarified that despite the apparent anointment from Enrile, he has “no ambitions to become the next Senate President, okay?”

The only reason Estrada said he has been constantly seen at the rostrum subbing for Enrile is because “Manong Johnny is active in interpellating and debating. I already told him that once the impeachment court is in session, I would not have any interest in presiding because I am not a lawyer. I was a law student for four years but that was a long time ago.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Edgardo Angara warned of the potential political and economic backlash that a leadership overhaul in the Senate would result in.

“Given the economic consequences to us of the European crisis, the US recession and the slowdown in China, we are such a small economy that if we do not pull our acts together (in the Senate), we would only be creating more internal problems,” Angara said in an interview.

“The first casualty would be the Senate’s own credibility. Consequences go down the line. A Senate coup at this time would be too disturbing politically and economically. Plotters would be heartless and without conscience if they only think of themselves,” he added.