Imee Marcos says she doesn’t aspire to be next Senate president

Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, on Friday said she is not vying for the position of Senate president or any ranks in the chamber in the 19th Congress.

“Hindi ko minimithi na mag-Senate president o kung ano-ano pang mga posisyon. Ang akin lang tuloy tuloy lang ang trabaho sa Senate. Maraming trabahong hinaharap,” Marcos said in an interview on Dobol B TV when asked what will be her role in the Senate considering her personal relationship with the incoming president.

(Personally, I do not aspire to become a Senate president or to get a ranking position in the Senate. I just want to ensure a continuous work in the Senate because we have a lot of work to do.)

The lawmaker reiterated that she will be a “super ate” of Bongbong in the Senate.

“Ako na lang ang ‘super ate.’ Sapat na ‘yon, hindi na kailangan ng iba pang titulo, kung hindi tumulong mula sa legislative side,” Imee said.

(I will be a “super ate.” That role is already enough. I don’t need any titles to do that. I just want to help from the legislative side.)

“Hindi naman siguro lihim na si Presdente [Rodrigo] Duterte nagkaproblema sa lehislatura, sa Senado, so sana smooth-sailing na ngayon. Wala nang veto, veto masyado, wala nang pagtutunggali, mga Blue Ribbon kahit papaano pag-usapan at imbestigahan nang todo-todo. Wala na masyadong alitan between the two branches of government,” she added.

(It is not a secret that President Duterte had a problem with the legislative side, in the Senate. So, I hope this time, it would be smooth-sailing. I hope the approved measures will not be vetoed, there will be no quarrels and the issues in the Blue Ribbon Committee can be discussed. I hope that there will be lesser disagreements between the two branches of government.)

Recently, Senator Sonny Angara disclosed that Imee and Senator-elect Loren Legarda have expressed interest in the position of Senate president pro tempore, the second highest position in the Upper Chamber.

Apart from this, Angara said that Imee was also gunning for the chairmanship of the Senate finance committee, which the former currently chairs.

The Senate finance committee handles all matters relating to funds for the expenditures of the National Government and for the payment of public indebtedness; auditing of accounts and expenditures of the National Government; claims against the government; intergovernmental revenue sharing; and, in general, all matters relating to public expenditures, according to Rule X, Section 13 (4) of the Rules of the Senate.

So far, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senator Cynthia Villar, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, and Senator-elect Francis Escudero were the lawmakers reportedly vying for the Senate’s top post.

Imee was reportedly supporting the Senate presidency bid of Villar.—AOL, GMA News