17 senators support Sen. Zubiri after another rumored coup
MANILA --- Seventeen out of 24 senators have signed a resolution affirming their continued support for Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri after another alleged coup attempt over the weekend.
Zubiri said in a press conference on Wednesday that three more senators on top of the 14 who originally signed the resolution have expressed their support for him. These are Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Sen. Robin Padilla and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
The 14 senators who signed the resolution, which is believed to be a loyalty check in the upper chamber for Zubiri, are Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Sen. Sonny Angara, Sen. Nancy Binay, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Sen. JV Ejercito, Sen. Grace Poe, Sen. Lito Lapid, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, Sen. Mark Villar, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Sen. Francis Tolentino, Sen. Bong Go. Zubiri also signed the resolution.
Senators who did not sign the manifesto of support are Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Francis Escudero, and Sen. Cynthia Villar.
Another senator who did not sign the resolution is Sen. Imee Marcos, who said over the weekend that it was the members of the House of Representatives pushing for leadership change in the Senate. This has since been
denied by House Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Erwin Tulfo (ACT-CIS Partylist).
Around this time last year, there were also reports of an attempted plot to replace Zubiri as Senate president. This was immediately denied not just by Zubiri, who called the rumor a “figment of someone’s imagination,” but also by other senators led by Legarda and Villanueva. -