After Sotto, Imee confirms bid for Senate president
Metro Manila, Philippines - Re-elected Senator Imee Marcos has confirmed she has been encouraged to seek the Senate presidency, becoming the second lawmaker to publicly acknowledge a possible leadership role.
“Some senators have approached me with the proposal to be their candidate for Senate President,” Marcos said in a statement on Friday, May 23.
“Whoever will be elected by our peers, whether it is me or not, there are certain congressional reforms that need to be undertaken,” she added.
She highlighted the need to reform the budgetary process, including removing the bicameral conference committee which has been criticized for controversial last-minute changes to the national budget. She also stressed the need for political party reform, noting that parties have increasingly become vehicles for personal ambition rather than the public good.
“Above all, the Senate as the guardian of national interest must always be upheld; its independence non-negotiable,” the presidential sister said.
If elected Senate president, Imee Marcos would preside over the chamber while her cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, continues to lead the House of Representatives. Despite their family ties, Marcos has publicly criticized Romualdez on a number of occasions.
Last week, Senator-elect Vicente “Tito” Sotto III revealed that “three to four” senators have talked to him about the Senate presidency, a post he held under the Duterte administration.
Replacing incumbent Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero would require the support of at least 13 senators. Escudero has acknowledged that the position ultimately belongs to whoever commands the confidence of the majority.
“Sino man ang may numero dapat tanggapin niya ‘yong responsibilidad at ‘yong hamon na ‘yon kung nasa kanya ang tiwala ng mas nakararaming senador,” he said in a media forum last week.
[Translation: Whoever has the numbers must accept the responsibility and the challenge that comes with the trust of the majority.]
