Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6) — The Senate in the 19th Congress will not be a rubber stamp of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s administration, Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.
“Hindi magiging rubber stamp ang Senado. In my watch, in the 18th Congress I was also a Majority Leader, never naging rubber stamp ang Senado. Marami po tayong mga panukala na sa tingin namin hindi sangayon para sa ating bansa na itinulak po ng administrasyon, hindi natin tinuloy,” said Zubiri in a chance interview with reporters.
[Translation: The Senate will not be a rubber stamp. In my watch, I was also a Majority Leader in the 18th Congress and the Senate was never a rubber stamp. There were many measures pushed by the administration that we did not agree on.]
Zubiri said they will still have to wait for Marcos’ upcoming State of the Nation Address to know his priority measures.
But the aspiring Senate President said the upper chamber will make sure to prioritize measures pushed by the administration if these will be beneficial for the country.
“We don’t want to be obstructionists. We will support the measures of the administration that we think, if we feel is going to be good for the country, that will be our priority,” said Zubiri.
Among Marcos’ plans is to revive the economy amid the pandemic, including creating a new stimulus package.
Meanwhile, several senators have already filed their priority bills.
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On the other hand, Zubiri said that proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution or charter change is not a priority for the upper chamber.
Zubiri said the Senate will focus first on the country’s recovery from the ongoing health crisis.
“Definitely the first year of the 19th Congress, I think ang usapin natin should revolve around kung paano bubuhayin ulit ang ekonomiya, paano natin iangat muli ang kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayan….Ayun muna ang pag-usapan natin,” he told reporters.
[Translation: Definitely in the first year of the 19th Congress, I think our discussions should revolve around how we can revive the economy, how we can uplift the livelihood of the people….Let’s focus on that right now.]
Former president Rodrigo Duterte earlier advised his successor to pursue charter change.
