Imee denies initiating Sotto ouster attempt

Senator Imee Marcos has refuted claims that she initiated the plan to change the leadership in the Senate.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Marcos said the Senate minority bloc could attest that she was among the last to know and to join the attempted coup against Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

“Gusto ko lamang pabulaanan ang kumakalat na pahayag na ako ang kumumpas sa balasahan sa Senado—HINDI AKO,” the senator said in a statement Sunday.

(I just want to refute the circulating claims that I was the one behind the Senate shake-up—IT’S NOT ME.)

“Mahalagang malaman ng liderato na ang pagpapalit ng SP ay napakaugong sa loob ng Senado dahil sa pangamba ng mga senador na nayayanig ang aming institusyon dahil sa mga kaso at kontrobersyang hindi dapat senador ang managot,” she added.

(It’s important for the Senate President to know that his ouster is causing a lot of buzz because senators fear that our institution is being shaken by cases and controversies for which senators should not be held accountable for.)

Talks about unseating Sotto as Senate President circulated last week, with Senator Loren Legarda being eyed to replace him.

But the Senate suspended its session on Wednesday with no leadership change. Sotto back then said that the Senate majority bloc foiled a coup attempt. 

On Friday, Sotto said the removal of Marcos as the chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee was one of the reasons why there was an attempt to change the leadership in the chamber.

Marcos, in response, denied that the committee had anything to do with the ouster attempt. 

She also admitted that she did not expect anything when it comes to internal politics in the Senate, being a critic of the administration of her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Hindi malaking bagay sa akin ang mga diskurso at hindi pagkakaunawaan, basta’t para sa mga tamang dahilan. Noong ibinigay sa akin ang Committee on Foreign Relations, kahit hindi ako bahagi ng mayorya, ay lubos akong nagpasalamat kay Tito Sotto,” she said.

(I don’t mind debates or misunderstandings, as long as they are for the right reasons. When the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations was given to me again, despite my not being in the majority, I was very grateful to Tito Sotto.)

“At dahil kritiko ako ng pamahalaan ng aking kapatid, wala akong kahit katiting na inaasahan pagdating sa anumang pagkilos sa loob ng Senado,” she added.

(And since I am a critic of my brother’s government, I don’t expect anything at all when it comes to Senate internal politics.)

Flood control controversy

To recall, several former and incumbent senators have been implicated in the flood control controversy since the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee launched an investigation, in aid of legislation, into the matter.

Rumors about the Senate shake-up also came at the height of the heated exchanges between senators regarding the row between Chinese and Philippine government officials.

Fifteen senators have signed a proposed resolution denouncing the public statements issued by the Chinese Embassy against Filipino officials, which they described as “contrary to accepted standards of diplomatic conduct and mutual respect between states.”

Marcos—who was back then still the chairperson of the Foreign Relations committee—-did not sign the resolution, but she filed a separate resolution calling on all government officials and employees to exercise restraint, sobriety, and professionalism in public communications relating to foreign affairs. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News