Imee Marcos: Senate President should come from UniTeam

Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday believed that the next Senate president should come from the UniTeam’s senatorial slate.

“I think everyone agreed na dapat ‘yung mangyari sa Senate ay UniTeam pa rin. Isang majority na matibay na talagang 13 (senators) ang maaasahan na boto,” Marcos said in an interview in Super Radyo dzBB.

(I think everyone agreed that what should happen in the Senate [the next one should still be from the] UniTeam - a strong majority with 13 dependable votes.)

“Dapat ganoon sana kasi sa dami ng problema natin dapat mabilis tayo at malakas ang dating ng mga batas na kinakailangan natin,” she added.

(This should be the situation because, with the problems we have, we should move quickly and decisively in coming up with the laws that we need.)

Marcos earlier said she was not seeking the Senate presidency or any other leadership position in the 19th Congress.

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

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 Villar's Senate presidency bid.

Asked about possible term sharing of the Senate presidency, Imee stressed that everything was “on the table.”

“Lahat ng kandidato, sa ano mang election, ay kinakailangan bukas ang isipan, sakripisyo, compromise, and have some level of negotiation–kasi ang sagwa naman na magsisimula ang bagong administrasyon na nag-aaway-away,” she said.

(All candidates, in any election, need to be open-minded, must sacrifice, compromise, and have some level of negotiation–because it would be ugly if the new administration is quarreling.)

“I think everything is on the table as far as I know. For me, everything is on the table, pwedeng pag-usapan ang lahat. Hindi ko lang alam kung ganun kabukas ang isipan ng iba,” she added.

(I think everything is on the table as far as I know. For me, everything is on the table, everything can be discussed. I just don’t know if others are that open-minded.)

Imee further emphasized that “Para sa mga Senate committee chairmanship, kailangan handang mag-compromise dahil kailangan magkaisa.”

(For Senate committee chairmanships, they must be willing to compromise because we need to be united.)

Angara earlier said that Imee was also seeking the chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, which Angara currently chairs.

The Senate Finance Committee handles all matters relating to funds for the expenditures of the National Government and 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. — DVM, GMA News