Sen. Chiz Escudero takes oath as Senate President.
AFTER a failed bid to oust him from the podium, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri finally caved in to pressure as he stepped down as the leader of the chamber even before getting ousted by fellow legislators.
Replacing Zubiri as Senate President is Senator Francis Escudero.
“It has been my greatest honor — the greatest honor of my life as a public servant and my biggest challenge,” said Zubiri who had been Senate president since July 2022.
“Senate president or not, I will continue to push for the welfare of our laborers until they receive decent wages that they deserve,” he averred as he took credit for the passage of economic legislations during his stint.
“We have been bold and courageous as a Senate. Unafraid to call out injustice when we see it, whether on our sovereign seas or within our own government. We have been fair-minded and truth-driven in the Senate despite the political noise that surrounds us.”
According to Zubiri, the Senate has proven to be unlike before – “We have been a staunchly independent Senate — let me say that again, we have been a staunchly independent Senate.”
An original member of the so-called Spice Boys in the House of Representatives, Zubiri’s resignation came amid persistent rumors about his ouster, for which he claimed no grudge to whom he aptly referred to as “the powers that be.”
Previously, Zubiri admitted feeling the pressure from supporters of the former and incumbent presidents over his stance on issues tackled in Senate investigations – one of which is his alleged failure to stop the Senate investigation on the controversial PDEA Leaks which dragged the name of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In an interview with reporters, an obviously pissed off Zubiri admitted feeling bad about the most recent development – “Syempre heartbroken… alam mo naman di naman tayo kalaban ng the powers that lead. Pero siguro dahil not following instructions, kaya nadali tayo.” (ANGEL F. JOSE)
