Sen. Migz Zubiri Speaks on ‘Veteran Bloc’ Vote for Senate Presidency in 20th Congress
MIGZ ZUBIRI – The Senator revealed that the ‘veteran bloc’ will support incoming Sen. Tito Sotto for Senate president.
With the opening of the 20th Congress, a new set of senators joins the existing senators. The upper chamber is also set to decide on who will be the Senate president and the senators have their own votes.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero previously confirmed that he is open to becoming the chief of the chamber again. Presidential sister and reelected Sen. Imee Marcos claimed that there are senators who want her to lead the upper chamber.
Incoming senator Tito Sotto also claimed that there are talks convincing him to the Senate president in the 20th Congress. According to him, he is willing to lead the chamber again if he has the numbers.
Senator-elect Tito Sotto is a former Senate President. He was the chief of the upper chamber during the 18th Congress. In the 19th Congress, the Senate was led by Sen. Migz Zubiri but he resigned and was immediately replaced by Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero.
Recently, Sen. Migz Zubiri revealed his vote for the Senate presidency in the 20th Congress. Based on a report on PhilStar, the Senator revealed that he and his colleagues in the ‘veteran bloc’ will support incoming Sen. Tito Sotto.
According to Zubiri, he wants a leader who will uphold the traditions and integrity of the Senate. He admitted that he does not want the Senate to be under a “dictatorial type” of leadership wherein the decisions come from one person alone.
“I am for a leader of the Senate who will keep protecting the integrity and traditions of the Senate… 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,” the former Senate President said.
Based on the report, the ‘veteran bloc’ who will support Sotto for the Senate presidency includes Senators Migz Zubiri and Loren Legarda as well as incoming senators Sotto and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
Sen. Migz Zubiri admitted his frustration over the Senate now. According to him, he is concerned that the upper chamber may lose relevance.
“My worry is, one day, the Senate might lose its relevance. People will just say, abolish the Senate,” he said.
Previously, Sen. Joel Villanueva expressed his belief that Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero is poised to retain the Senate presidency. According to him, he has talked to 13 senators already who support Escudero but he is also aware that votes may change.