Pangilinan sees no plot to oust Enrile

Sen. Francis Pangilinan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francis Pangilinan said Monday that he had no knowledge of any plot to oust Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile from his position.

“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know if there is a plot … to change the Senate leadership,” Pangilinan told reporters in an ambush interview.

Enrile had said in a radio interview that Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Antonio Trillanes IV were behind the plot to remove him.

Santiago had said in a separate interview that Enrile’s opposition to the Reproductive Health Bill and his position on the Sin Tax bill were the reasons he could lose the presidency.

When asked if he also found the two proposed measures as grounds to remove Enrile, Pangilinan said, “maybe you should ask Santiago to elaborate since those statements came from her.”

“I have no reason to support any change in leadership,” Pangilinan said.