Marcos: No hand in Zubiri ouster but asked by Escudero ‘what do you think?’

President Marcos—PPA POOL

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei—President Marcos admitted on Wednesday that he was aware of the plan to unseat Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri as Senate President but maintained that he had nothing to do with it.

Speaking to reporters covering his state visit to the Bruneian capital, the President said Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero brought up the plan with him, adding he was informed “every step of the way.”

“Actually, it was Senator Chiz. At the minute he started thinking about it, he already brought it up and said: ‘I think I am going to try to be the SP. What is my situation? What do you think?’ ” Marcos said, quoting Escudero.

When Zubiri resigned as Senate President on May 20, he said his refusal to “follow instructions from the powers that be” cost him the third highest government office.

Out of town

Escudero, who received the vote of 14 other senators to replace Zubiri, initially claimed he had no prior knowledge of the move to oust his colleague. But he admitted a day after his election that he had instigated it and that some senators already had reservations about Zubiri’s leadership.

Mr. Marcos also admitted that “there were movements” to oust Zubiri but that “I did not speak to any parties (behind the moves) because I was out of town” on the day Escudero took over.

Mr. Marcos was then in Tacloban City and Dumaguete City to lead aid distribution in areas reeling from the El Niño dry spell.

“The decision to change the leadership was not made by me. It was made by the senators,” the President stressed, recalling that by the time he got back to Manila around 4 p.m. on May 20, Zubiri had already stepped down.

But he said he knew about “the state of voting” when the votes “were still being collected” by Escudero. “We already knew the number that would come out. So that’s the extent. I was basically informed at every step of the way, but it moved so quickly as well.”

‘Unclear to me’

In his farewell speech as Senate President, an emotional Zubiri said he had “ruffled some feathers” by not following orders from the powers that be and that this probably led to his “demise.”

Told of this remark, Mr. Marcos said he was unsure what Zubiri was referring to.

“I guess if you are Senate President, the only ‘power that be’ is the President. So, I am not sure what he is referring to. If that is a specific instance or just as a general principle. I don’t know, I have not spoken to him about it,’’ he said.

“So, it is hard for me to answer simply because I am not sure what he is referring to because what ‘instructions’ could that be that he did not finish. Yes, that’s still unclear to me what he’s referring to,” he added.

He said Zubiri still had his trust and confidence and that the change in the Senate leadership, being decided by its members, “does not reflect on my view” of the senator.