'Hindi tama': Bongbong 'unlikely' to meddle in race for Senate presidency, says Imee | ABS-CBN

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'Hindi tama': Bongbong 'unlikely' to meddle in race for Senate presidency, says Imee

'Hindi tama': Bongbong 'unlikely' to meddle in race for Senate presidency, says Imee

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Jun 01, 2022 09:56 AM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is proclaimed the president-elect of the Philippines during a formal ceremony officiated by Senate-president Vicente Sotto III (L) and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco at the House of Representatives at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City on May 25, 2022
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is proclaimed the president-elect of the Philippines during a formal ceremony officiated by Senate-president Vicente Sotto III (L) and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco at the House of Representatives at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City on May 25, 2022

MANILA (UPDATE) — It is "unlikely" for President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. to interfere in the race for the Senate presidency in the incoming 19th Congress, his sister Sen. Imee Marcos said Tuesday, saying such move would be "improper."

"It’s most unlikely and quite improper. As you are well aware, there is separation of the 3 branches of government. Hindi po tayo nanghihimasok sa executive. Ang executive, hindi pakikialaman ang judiciary and so on and so forth, kasi hindi naman siya tama," Marcos told reporters.

(We do not interfere with the executive branch. The executive does not interfere with the judiciary and so on and so forth because that is not right.)

Several senators said negotiations were ongoing on who should be the 19th Congress' Senate President.

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Sen. Cynthia Villar and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri are said to be vying for the post. Zubiri and Villar's son Mark were part of the Marcos Senate slate in the May 9 polls. The Villar-led Nacionalista Party also endorsed Marcos's presidential bid.

While she said she was not campaigning for anyone, Sen. Marcos said "general rule" dictates that she must support her party mate Villar's bid.

The president-elect's sister added that the Senate must have a "supermajority" and its own version of "uniteam" to push for the new administration's legislative agenda.

"At all costs, we need to have a supermajority. Our country faces, with the world, a very challenging future. We need to be together. We need a Senate Uniteam. Kung ano 'yung sakripisyo, compromise, tikisan na kailangan gawin, gawin na natin para magkaisa," she said.

(Whatever sacrifice, compromise that is necessary should be done for unity.)

On Wednesday, Marcos said Zubiri has yet to talk to her.

"But clearly I belong to the Nacionalista Party and Sen. Villar is our boss as it were. To my mind discussing the (Senate) presidency at this point is a little premature. More important is to determine the composition kasi 9 ang aalis at napakarami nun (because 9 will leave and that's too many)," she told ANC's Headstart.

"It’s going to be a seat change in the Senate. Perhaps we should discuss who would be the best senators for each and every job."

When asked about which committees she was eyeing, Marcos said heading the Senate committees on finance, foreign relations, and agriculture and food would be "very interesting."

"I'm not certain what would be appropriate at this point, the finance committee could, of course, be interesting because I was a vice chairman there and I'm very committed to the condonation of agrarian reform land so that's important to me too," she said.

"Of course there’s agriculture because food prices have skyrocketed and they're affecting the poor in an exorbitant way...Foreign affairs is very interesting at this point. Maybe it’s time to look at new ideas like joint border patrol with China and the other claimants, maybe it’s time to reinvigorate our US relations."

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