• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Ruling out himself from the race for Senate president, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Tuesday the “veteran bloc” will support the Senate presidential bid of Tito Sotto.
The “veteran bloc” is composed of himself, returning senators Sotto and Panfilo Lacson and incumbent senator Loren Legarda.
“I am for a leader of the Senate who will keep protecting the integrity and traditions of the Senate. I don’t want a Senate leader who will be dictatorial type. I don’t want us to be similar to the other chamber, where it is only one emperor, who dictates all the instructions to the members of the body,” Zubiri said in a press briefing in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Senator Joel Villanueva said on Monday that Senate President Francis Escudero appears to have the support of at least13 senators.
“He (Escudero) may have it, but I am hoping and praying that at the end of day, we all decide to have a Senate president that will continue its independence, as a last bastion of democracy, not just independent from the House (of Representatives),” Zubiri said.
During his time as the Senate president, Zubiri recalled leading the upper chamber through consultative leadership and consensus building, adding that he always held a caucus every week to discuss issues of the day.
At the same time, he said, he did not build discussions in the floor because it shows a very chaotic Senate.
“I am praying that we will have a new leadership in the Senate,” he said.
In the 19th Congress, Zubiri was ousted as the Senate president. He was replaced by Escudero.
As then Senate president, Zubiri also recalled that he defended the Senate against what he described as the fake “people’s initiative”, which would have rendered them as “inutile”.
“If we didn’t fight back, probably, we are in a parliamentary system now. I am very proud that I fought that, and we won. Maybe that was the cause of my demise, but so be it. At least, I protected the integrity of the Senate,” he added. | GB
