Zubiri saw ouster coming, tags senators for betrayal

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said he saw his ouster coming as early as the middle of last week and adverted to betrayal by colleagues who vowed "full support" as late as over the weekend.

At a news conference following the leadership change a few days before Congress adjourned sine die, Zubiri also mentioned how some senators' requests could have eroded the relevance of the Senate.

"'Yung Wednesday po, nalaman ko, nagkikita, nagu-usap-usap po sila. Ang kabilang grupo. And 'yun. Nag-umpisa na po," Zubiri said.

"Medyo masama nga po ang loob ko. Meron pang mga nagte-text sa akin. 'We're with you', 'Full support po kami', 'Kami po ay 100 percent sa 'yo'," he added.

"Wala pang isang araw, wala na. Ang hirap talagang maging pulitiko," Zubiri said.

(I am hurt. There are those who have been texting me. 'We're with you', 'You have our full support', 'We're 100 percent behind you'. Not a day has passed, and it's all gone. It's really difficult to be a politician.)

Asked if the group of the new Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero reached out to talk to him, Zubiri said it did not.

"'Yung nakipag-usap sa 'kin 'yung nag-traydor sa akin," Zubiri said.

"Full support. Ngayon, no support... Pero okay lang 'yun. I don't want to rain on the parade of Senator Escudero," he added.

(Those who talked to me were the ones who betrayed me. Full support. Now, no support... But that's okay. I don't want to rain on the parade of Senator Escudero.)

Zubiri expressed his appreciation for the senators who stayed with him until the end.

"It shows character," Zubiri said.

Those who supported Zubiri until the end were Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Sonny Angara, Sherwin Gatchalian, Nancy Binay, and Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa.

All of them except Gatchalian and Dela Rosa left their positions and their committee chairmanship after Zubiri's resignation as Senate chief.

Legarda was the Senate pro-tempore; Villanueva, the majority leader; Ejercito, the deputy majority leader; Angara, the chairman of the Committees on Finance, youth and subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes; Binay, the chairperson of committees on accounts, tourism and ethics.

A meeting is scheduled tonight to discuss what will be their next moves in the Senate, according to Zubiri.

The minority bloc composed of Senator Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Senator Risa Hontiveros maintained status quo. The rest supported Escudero as the new Senate president.

Zubiri said he "presumed" that the reason why he was replaced as Senate president was because of the Senate hearings on the supposed leaked PDEA documents which linked President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa is leading  the Senate investigation into the matter.

Zubiri also mentioned that he started feeling the moves to change the Senate leadership at the height of the issue of the controversial people's initiative and when the Senate refused to follow a supposed timeline on passing a measure for Charter change.

Zubiri said he was hoping Escudero would uphold the independence of the Senate and it won't "succumb to pressure."

The solon from Bukidnon said he was hoping Escudero would uphold the independence of the Senate.

"We just hope and pray and I appeal to him that he continues to adhere to the rules of the Senate," Zubiri said, adding that "only time will tell."

"Marami kasing mga bagong senador e. Maraming hinihinging concessions. If we do that, mawawala ang relevance ng Senado. We have to stick to the rules," he added.

(There are some senators who ask for many concessions. If we do that, the Senate will lose its relevance. We have to stick to the rules.) —NB/RF, GMA Integrated News