Marcos ‘not as warm as usual’ in latest meeting with senators – source

FILE PHOTO: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was not as “warm as usual” when he met with senators on Thursday, January 25, 2024, says a source. In this photo, Marcos was delivering his arrival speech at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, following a weeklong trip from the United States on November 20, 2023. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo

MANILA,  Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was not as “warm as usual” when he met with senators on Thursday, a source said.

Instead of convening the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), the President met separately with the senators and members of the House of Representatives.

The source, however, did not say if the President was frustrated by the ongoing feud between the Senate and the House on proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“Sabihin na lang natin na (Let’s just say that) both walked away not happy,”  the source said over the phone.

Was it because of the postponement of the Ledac meeting?

“Dahil sa PI,” the source answered, referring to the people’s initiative (PI) on Charter change.

Present during Thursday’s meeting with the President were Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senators Imee Marcos, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Mark Vilar.

Though tightlipped about the meeting, Sen. Marcos gave a glimpse on what happened there.

“Ok naman,” she said in a Zoom interview with reporters on Friday. “Alam naman ninyo ‘yung kapatid ko eh talaga namang malumanay ‘yun eh. Parati namang mabait ‘yun at nakikipag-usap naman.”

(It’s okay. You know my brother, he’s always gentle, kind, and he talks to us.)

After meeting the President, she said, the senators gathered again and decided to be united in their actions in the coming days.

The special meeting with the President, she said, was requested by the Senate chief.

On January 11, the Senate and the House leadership met with Marcos, and they agreed to pursue changes to specific economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Days after that meeting, Zubiri filed a resolution to amend at least three economic provisions.

READ: Zubiri ready to ‘risk’ Senate leadership on Cha-cha push

Not long after, however, all 24 senators signed a manifesto against the PI, which they said included a proposal for a joint voting of Congress.

READ: Don’t ‘hijack’ Cha-cha signature drive, Koko Pimentel urges House

Senators expressed fear that a joint voting would give the lower chamber more power over the upper chamber since the Senate – with only 24 members – could easily be outvoted by more than 300 House members.