Bato, Nancy weep as Migz quits Senate presidency

Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Nancy Binay cannot help but turn emotional as Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri delivered a speech during the plenary session on Monday to formally resign as Senate president.

Dela Rosa and Binay were seen crying after Zubiri acknowledged both of them for sticking by his side and keeping their loyalty to him.

"Nancy, who has been loyal since day one as a friend, never waiving. Thank you, my dear. I love you dearly and your family," Zubiri said.

After which, Binay was seen getting paper towels to wipe her tears.

Zubiri also thanked his fellow Mindanaoan lawmaker Dela Rosa.

"To Bato dela Rosa, who stuck it out with me to the very end, Sir, I salute you, sir," Zubiri said.

Dela Rosa was seen holding his tears back as Zubiri said he appreciated the former PNP chief's loyalty.

At a news conference, Zubiri said he "presumed" that one of the reasons why he was eased out 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.

Apart from the Dela Rosa and Binay, Zubiri also acknowledged his closest fellows in the Senate-- Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Sonny Angara, and Sherwin Gatchalian.

Legarda, Villanueva, Ejercito, Angara and Gatchalian held vital positions in the Senate under Zubiri's leadership.

Legarda was the Senate pro-tempore; Villanueva, the majority leader; Ejercito, the deputy majority leader; Angara, the chairman of the Committee on Finance; and Gatchalian, the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Before Zubiri delivered his speech, Dela Rosa also cried before the former Senate president's wife, Mrs. Audrey Tan-Zubiri.

In his speech, Zubiri said his position to keep the Senate as an independent institution is probably why he faced his "demise" and he "failed to follow instructions from the powers that be."

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.

He was replaced by Senator Francis Escudero. —NB, GMA Integrated News