Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri answer questions from reporters during an online interview on Wednesday, August 12, 2020. Screengrab from Zoom interview
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Saturday denied a congressman’s statement that some senators were “showboating” in aid of reelection after the Senate ratified the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 bill.
“First of all, there was no showboating as can be seen in the Youtube recorded session that Thursday. The Senators were just congratulating the members of the bicam for a job well done and never did we ‘scoff at’ the Ratified Bill,” Zubiri said in a statement.
Zubiri was reacting to House Deputy Speaker Danilo Fernandez’s accusation that some senators were “showboating” after the Bayanihan 2, a measure on the response for COVID-19 pandemic, was ratified by the upper chamber of Congress.
Fernandez’s statement also questioned senators’ approval of the Bayanihan bill, claiming that some senators felt that the consolidated measure was not up to standards.
Zubiri then questioned Fernandez’s remark that the “bill was never up to their standards.”
“Please tell us Mr. Congressmen in which statement did we say that the bill was never up to Standards?? [Please] give, show me the exact quote because after the review of the video there were no insinuations made. So get your facts straight before you make any accusations towards me and the institution,” he said.
During a bicameral panel meeting on the proposed Bayanihan 2, Senator Pia Cayetano took offense of remarks from Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Zubiri.
Zubiri was acknowledging his colleagues at the bicam about efforts on the Bayanihan 2 bill when Sotto quipped, “When the majority leader says the [bicam members] were selfless in their proposals and advocacies and no agenda, whatsoever, you were merely talking about the Senate panel?”
Zubiri, who attended the plenary session via video conference, can be heard letting out a laugh over Sotto’s quip. Zubiri refused to comment on Sotto’s question, emphasizing the Senate’s “pure advocacy” in passing the measure.
With this, Zubiri clarified said he never “alluded” to any ill motives during the conversation with Sotto. He added that only the guilty will feel “alluded” to these remarks.
“We never alluded to anyone or any group of any ill motives as shown by the recorded video of that session. It is unfair to the Senators for these Congressmen to say that we alluded to them. Only the guilty will feel alluded to if ever,” he said.
“I can only speak on behalf of my hard working team of Senators that we did our job without personal motive and with the best interest of the Filipino people in mind. I presume it is the same for my colleagues in the House,” Zubiri added.
Zubiri also denied that he let off a laugh on the comments of Sotto.
“As a matter of fact, I defended them in my statements as shown in the video recordings and said it was a balanced measure with the Senate and the House of Representatives working hard to get it done. They even accused me of laughing at the comments of the Senate President but a short fact check will show that I was not laughing at the senate President but it was another colleague of mine,” he said.