IN a presscon, Senator Migz Zubiri‘s says he was heart-broken after stepping down from his position as Senate President.
Zubiri says the change in Senate leadership may be due to his stance on the independence of the Senate.
Many seemed to have been angered by his refusal to obey orders to stop the Senate investigation on the PDEA leaks.
“Regarding Senator Dela Rosa’s hearing, I said, many were angry with me on both sides because I remained fair to both sides. Perhaps many were angry with me because of that, but it is my duty as Senate President to always keep the committee strong and independent from any outside forces dictating what should and should not be in the committee systems,” according to Sen. Migz Zubiri.
The anger towards him allegedly began with his opposition to the People’s Initiative.
He did not respond whether the orders for the Senate investigation came from Malacañang.
He said that the change in Senate leadership happened swiftly.
He said there were others who expressed support, but disappeared in the end which he found particularly disappointing.
“On Wednesday, I found out they were talking, meeting, the other group was talking. That’s when it started, we were keeping an eye on things over the weekend, my conscience was already heavy because there were still people texting me, ‘We’re with you, full support from us, we’re 100 percent with you,’ but in less than a day, we couldn’t do anything,” Zubiri stated.
Senate presidency is stressful
Zubiri also mentioned that being the Senate President is stressful.
He expressed his desire for the new Senate President, Chiz Escudero, not to be affected by the pressure.”
SP Escudero tells he cannot be influence by the President despite their closeness
Meanwhile… the new Senate President assured that his leadership will not be influenced by his closeness to President Bongbong Marcos.
“I was close to President Noynoy Aquino. We didn’t agree on many things because he knew I had a job as a senator during that time. He also had a job as president.”
“The same goes for President Duterte. From when he was a mayor to becoming president. Honestly, the closest friend I’ve had among presidents is President Aquino.”
“It’s far compared to anyone who became president after him, before him, or now. And I think there’s evidence, as they say, I have something to show and prove that even though he was my closest friend, he didn’t influence my decisions during that time,” said Sen. Chiz Escudero, Senate President.
He stated that he only found out he was Senate President after taking his oath.
“Like other elections, until the actual voting is completed, as they say, the election isn’t over yet. I learned this after I took my oath,” Escudero added.
