MANILA – Senate President Francis Escudero on Tuesday said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. did not know about the change in the chamber’s leadership until after it was finished.

"All he said was he was in Dumaguete and Bacolod and by the time he landed, he was informed… By the time he found out, there was already a change and it was finished," Escudero told the media, a day after he replaced Sen. Migz Zubiri as Senate President. 

"He (Marcos) expressed of course his congratulatory message in social media and personally congratulated me, too," Escudero said. 

Zubiri had said he was stepping down from his post after he "failed to follow instructions from the powers that be."

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday said that neither he, the Palace, nor Speaker Martin Romualdez had a hand in the Senate shakeup. 

MARCOS DINNER WITH SENATORS 

Both Escudero and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that Tuesday night's dinner of senators and their spouses at the Palace with the President and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos was a purely social event that was scheduled even before the leadership change at the Senate.

"May matagal nang imbitasyon pangatlong imbitasyon na ito ng Palasyo. Noong unang 2 beses di ako nagpunta. Ang imbitasyon ay para sa Senado, ito ang unang pagkakataon nagpunta ako at pakiramdam ko dapat lang  bilang bagong halal na tagapangulo ng Senado," Escudero said. 

“This is a regular dinner and the first 2 dinners na hinost niya with senators all invited, walang pinipili," he said. 

(It's a long standing invitation. Everyone was invited.)

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Gatchalian said, “Wala namang napag-usapang political." 

"Ang pinakamalapit nang pinag-usapan kaugnay sa trabaho ay tinake up ni Ma’am Cynthia Villar yung RTL (rice tariffication law) kay Pangulong Marcos… Mukhang nagkasundo naman sila," he said.

"Si Sen. Loren [Legarda] napag-usapan yung topic ng education. Of course, being chair of Basic Education napag-usapan rin namin yun pero walang specifics; very broad and friendly yung dinner," Gatchalian said. 

(There were no political discussions. The closest thing to work that was tackled was the rice tariffication law raised by Ma’am Cynthia Villar. They seemed to have an agreement. Sen. Legarda brought up education, we talked about it)

CHARTER CHANGE 

Escudero said he and Marcos did not discuss charter change during the Palace dinner. 

Escudero said he would not change his position against revising the 1987 Constitution. But he wanted to balance the tempestuous relationship of the Senate and the House over charter change.

"I have my own personal opinion and position…and I have no plans of changing. But at the end of the day, as a Senate, the new majority is inclined towards that too. But at the same time we have to balance our relationship with the House, meaning ayusin naman natin we can agree to disagree," he said.

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REORGANIZATION 

Escudero said he expects the new Senate leadership to finish reorganizing the committees this week.

The 19th Congress adjourns its Second Regular Session on Tuesday.

Gatchalian will retain chairmanship of the basic education and ways and means panels. 

Sen. Grace Poe will get the Senate Finance Committee, which will craft the annual national budget, Escudero said. 

He said Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence Go will retain their existing committees. Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino will have to give up the Justice Committee because of his new job.

Escudero said the bloc of former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri will be offered chairmanships.

"Everyone should have a committee and they expressed yesterday, Zubiri expressed to me their desire to have committees and to work and not have not any committees which I wholly agree with kailangan naman talaga namin ng katulong there are over 45 committees if i'm not mistaken 24 lang kami," Escudero said.

New Senate leaders emerge as some panels remain vacant