Senator Imee Marcos on Friday renewed her criticism of the administration of her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accusing it of trying to weaken the Senate amid growing tensions over proposed rule changes allowing senators to attend sessions remotely.
In a statement, Marcos claimed the administration was interfering in Senate affairs, particularly in the debate surrounding online participation and voting.
“I think what the administration is doing to the majority bloc is already very obvious since even the President is now lambasting the Senate and meddling with the online voting issue,” she said.
“These are clear incursions in the constitutional boundaries between executive and legislative,” Marcos added.
Her remarks came after President Marcos publicly opposed moves by the Senate majority bloc to amend chamber rules to permit remote participation during sessions. The proposal has triggered deeper divisions between senators from the majority and minority blocs, with critics alleging the measure could favor lawmakers facing legal or political issues.
According to the senator, the dispute over online participation reflected a broader attempt to weaken the chamber’s independence and limit its oversight functions.
“It seems the intent is to paralyze us because they are afraid of what a real blue ribbon investigation will reveal,” Marcos said.
She also warned that continued pressure from the administration could turn the Senate into a mere extension of the executive branch.
“They want to render us powerless so that the Senate will become a rubber stamp for their plans,” she declared.
Malacañang, however, denied allegations of political pressure against senators. President Marcos maintained that the legal cases involving members of the majority bloc were based on evidence gathered during legislative investigations and not acts of retaliation.