Senator Nancy Binay on Friday said she found the claims that Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s injured foot caused the ouster of former Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri “weird.”
“Medyo weird lang kasing isipin na sa dinami-rami ng conspiracy theories na nagsilabasan sa likod ng Senate coup, isang paa lang pala ang dahilan kung bakit nasipa at natanggal sa pwesto si Sen. Migz. So, ganoon na nga, the best or worst interest of the nation is just a foot away,” Binay said.
She added that this would be the first time in Philippine politics that “a foot, despite being injured, has shown more kicking power than the powers-that-be.”
“Kung ‘yung paa ang dahilan ng pagkatanggal sa pwesto ni Sen. Migz, masasabi natin that they have really put their best foot forward. If a sore foot can inspire such decisive action, just imagine what a fully functioning pair of feet could do. But for now, the foot has spoken. Sama-sama para sa paa ni Sen. Bong Revilla,” she went on.
Sought for comment, Sen. Revilla told GMA News Online, “Move forward na lang tayo. Pwedeng isa sa naging trigger, pero bago yan, marami nang problema.”
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa claimed in an interview that the former Senate President’s decision not to allow Revilla to attend sessions virtually due to Revilla’s Achilles tendon injury “rekindled” an earlier ouster move sought by Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
The ouster plot was supposedly “rekindled” by the senators who were in show business, according to dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa said Senator Francis Tolentino and now Senate President Francis Escudero moved for Revilla to join the session online, but Zubiri rejected it.
Binay was one of the six senators who supported Zubiri until the end of his term as Senate president.
On Monday, Zubiri resigned from his post as the Senate’s top leader. He was replaced by Escudero who secured the support of 15 senators to push for the leadership change.
In his resignation speech, Zubiri said he probably faced his “demise” as he “failed to follow instructions from the powers that be.”
The day after his ouster, Zubiri said that his defense of dela Rosa’s inquiry cost him his position as Senate president.
While Zubiri did not specify which inquiry he was referring to, dela Rosa had been leading the probe into the allegedly leaked PDEA papers.
Escudero and Estrada had categorically stated that Malacañang and other external forces had no hand in the recent leadership change in the Senate. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
