President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he was not surprised by the change in Senate leadership that took place on Monday, September 8.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, September 9 — the final day of his three-day state visit to Cambodia — Marcos admitted he had anticipated Senator Chiz Escudero’s replacement as Senate President.
“I mean, you have all been reporting on this at alam naman ninyo na mayroong talagang galaw, that has been going on for at least a month — that would bring us to this change of leadership,” Marcos told reporters.
The President downplayed the development, saying such shake-ups are normal in the Senate based on his own experience as senator from 2010 to 2016 during the Aquino administration.
He stressed that the leadership shift was an internal matter among senators.
“The change of leadership is an internal matter between the senators. I am confident… The Senate knows how to organize itself; the Senate also knows how to do the work,” Marcos said.
Marcos also expressed confidence that his administration’s legislative priorities would remain intact despite the shake-up.
“I do not actually see any problem in terms of the legislative agenda that the executive and the legislature have agreed to undertake for the next Congress. If Senator Sotto is now the SP again, then I do not see that it will change very much from our agenda that we had agreed upon when Senator Chiz was SP,” he said.
The President, however, declined to respond to speculation that he had supported Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s return to the Senate presidency from the very start.