Marcos denies hand in Zubiri ouster

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday denied he was behind the move to replace Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri as Senate President.

This as Zubiri alluded to outside forces as behind his ouster as leader of the Senate, saying he lost his post for supposedly failing to “follow instructions from the powers that be.”

Asked to comment on this during a press briefing with the Philippine media covering his state visit to Brunei, Marcos said he was not sure what Zubiri was referring to.

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

Zubiri resigned as Senate President amid rumors of a coup against his leadership last May 20, 2024.

A day later, Senator Chiz Escudero was elected leader of the Senate.

The President admitted that Escudero informed him of his plan to take over the Senate leadership before the ouster was carried out.

But he said he did not speak to any parties at endpoint because he was out of town, adding that he received the news that Escudero had assumed the Senate leadership when he returned to Manila from the said out-of-town trip.

“So, that’s the extent. That‘s how I was basically informed at every step of the way but it moves so quickly as well,” Marcos said.

“But of course, we knew the state of the voting. When that was still being collected, the votes were still being collected by Senator Chiz,” he said.

Asked if he still trusts Zubiri, the President responded affirmatively but insisted that he had nothing to do with the change in the Senate leadership.

“It was made by the senators," Marcos said.

“So, that does not reflect on my view on Senator Migz and the trust and confidence that I have in him,” he said. (PNA)