SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero was at a loss as to why Senator Serge Osmeña III has openly expressed his dislike for him.
Osmeña earlier said in various media interviews that Escudero would be an excess baggage of Senator Grace Poe if the two decide to run for vice president and president, respectively, in 2016.
READ: Ditch Escudero, Osmeña advises Poe
Asked in a television interview on Wednesday why Osmeña dislikes him, Escudero said: “I don’t know. I don’t know why.”
“Pero palaging mataas ang respeto ko sa kanya, I may not agree with him always but the respect has always been there in my part because he taught me a lot of things and I learned a lot of things from him, too, when I was beginning my term as senator and even my first campaign as a senator. Palagi ko siyang gagalangin at nandoon palagi ang galang ko. Pero hindi nangangahulugang palagi akong sasang-ayon,” he said.
(But I always have high respect for him, I may not agree with him always but the respect has always been there in my part because he taught me a lot of things and I learned a lot of things from him, too, when I was beginning my term as senator and even my first campaign as a senator. I will always respect him but that doesn’t mean that I’ll always agree with him.)
“Wala kaming pinag-awayan, walang debate walang argumento wala kaming pinag-awayan, kung nagugulat ka, nagugulat din ako sa nababasa ko sa dyaryo,” Escudero added.
(We didn’t fight. We didn’t argue. If you’re surprised, I’m also surprised by what I read in the papers.)
Despite Osmeña’s statements against him, Escudero said they still talk to each other in the Senate about work.
In some interviews, Osmeña also insinuated that there might be some negative issues that would arise against Escudero.
But this early, Escudero distanced himself from corruption allegations at the National Food Authority (NFA) during the time of its former administrator Lito Banayo.
READ: ‘NFA gave legal cover to smugglers’
He denied that he recommended Banayo for the post but admitted recommending him for another post.
“As board I think of PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) which he was interested at that time,” Escudero said, responding to a question.