Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri addresses the media after resigning from his post as Senate president at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Monday, May 20, 2024. INQUIRER.net / CHARIE ABARCA
MANILA, Philippines – “I saw it coming.”
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said this on Monday after he relinquished his post to newly installed Senate President Francis Escudero.
As early as Wednesday last week, Zubiri said he already knew that his colleagues were plotting his ouster. Until the weekend, he said he and the other group were monitoring each other.
“And medyo masama ang loob ko dahil meron pang mga nagtext sa akin na we are with you, full support po kami, we are 100% sa’yo, wala pang isang araw wala na,” he said in a press briefing after announcing his resignation on the Senate floor.
(And I feel quite bad because some even texted me saying, “We are with you, we fully support you, we are 100% behind you,” but in less than a day, they were gone.)
“Ang hirap talaga maging pulitiko. Alam mo sa totoo lang, ang hirap maging pulitiko kaya ako’y tuwang-tuwang sa mga naiwan sa akin, alam mo true test of character yan,” Zubiri said followed by a hearty laugh.
(It’s really hard to be a politician. You know, honestly, it’s difficult to be a politician. That’s why I’m so grateful to those who have stayed with me; it’s a true test of character.)
“I just felt heartbroken. I felt heartbroken not because of position…I’m heart broken because of those who committed to be steadfast with us. We had the same ideals and all of a sudden biglang nawala po. Ganyan talaga nag buhay,” he added.
In the end, Zubiri was left with only seven allies in the Senate: Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian, Sonny Angara and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
He did not count the two members of the opposition bloc— Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Senator Risa Hontiveros.
The remaining 14 of the 24 senators then went to support Escudero, based on Zubiri’s count.
The 14 senators are the following: Escudero, Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, Alan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Christopher “Bong” Go, and Lito Lapid.
Senators Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Grace Poe, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Raffy Tulfo, Cynthia Villar and Mark Villar.
It was Sen. Alan Cayetano , who nominated Escudero to be the new Senate president and no member objected.
During the press briefing, Zubiri surmised that the plan to remove him started when he did not agree with the proposed timelines for the approval of the proposed economic Charter change.
He also pointed to the ongoing Senate investigation into the alleged leaked Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency documents , linking prominent personalities to illegal drugs.
According to him, many got mad at him for not stopping the probe being conducted by Dela Rosa’s committee on public order and dangerous drugs.
But Zubiri insisted he was just doing his job and following the Senate rules.
“I saw it coming,” he the said. “As a matter of fact, I even said to my staff parang by 2025 ayaw ko ng maging Senate president sa totoo lang. Pero napaaga po ang ng pag-resign ko bilang Senate president.”
(As a matter of fact, I even told my staff that by 2025, I didn’t want to be Senate president anymore, to be honest. But my resignation as Senate president came earlier than expected.)
“Napakagrabeng stress, nakapakatindi ng pressure so I hope this new leadership does not succumb to pressure. Only time will tell,” he continued.
(There was too much stress and pressure, so I hope this new leadership does not succumb to pressure. Only time will tell.”
Zubiri ended his interview with the media with this message to the new leadership: “We will be watching.”
Note: The English translations in this article have been generated with the aid of AI.