SENATOR Imee Marcos has denied claims that she initiated an alleged attempt to remove Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, saying she was among the last to learn about and join discussions surrounding the reported leadership shake-up.
In a statement issued over the weekend, Marcos said members of the Senate minority bloc could attest that she did not lead any move to oust Sotto, stressing that reports portraying her as the mastermind were false.
“I just want to refute the circulating claims that I was the one behind the Senate shake-up; it’s not me,” Marcos said.
She explained that talk of replacing the Senate president had been circulating widely within the chamber, fueled by concerns among senators that the institution was being destabilized by legal cases and controversies for which lawmakers, she said, should not be made to answer.
Speculation about a possible ouster of Sotto intensified last week, with Senator Loren Legarda reportedly being considered as a replacement.
However, the Senate suspended its session on Wednesday without any change in leadership. Sotto later said that the Senate majority bloc had successfully blocked an attempted coup.
On Friday, Sotto claimed that Marcos’ removal as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was among the reasons behind the alleged leadership challenge.
Marcos rejected this, saying the committee issue had nothing to do with the supposed ouster plot.
She also said she harbors no expectations when it comes to internal Senate politics, noting that she has been openly critical of the administration of her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“I do not mind debates or misunderstandings, as long as they are for the right reasons. When I was given the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations, even though I was not part of the majority, I was very grateful to Tito Sotto,” she said.
“And because I am a critic of my brother’s administration, I have no expectations at all when it comes to any internal maneuvering in the Senate,” she added.
The reported leadership tensions came amid a Senate investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects, which have implicated several former and incumbent senators.
The rumors also coincided with heated exchanges among lawmakers over a diplomatic row involving Chinese and Philippine government officials.
Fifteen senators signed a proposed resolution condemning public statements issued by the Chinese Embassy against Filipino officials, describing them as contrary to accepted standards of diplomatic conduct and mutual respect between states. Marcos, who was then still chair of the foreign relations committee, did not sign the measure.
Instead, she filed a separate resolution urging government officials and employees to exercise restraint, sobriety, and professionalism in public communications related to foreign affairs.