SEN. Imee Marcos insists she is not to blame for the delay in the approval of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, as Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri had hinted, even as she categorically declared herself opposed to any coup plot against the Senate leader.
“I am so over coups, but must protest this statement regarding RCEP,” Sen. Marcos bemoaned in a reply to reporters’ queries on Thursday.
She was reacting to Zubiri’s remarks on Wednesday, when he dismissed as “fake news” the reports he was supposedly the target of a coup because of the allegedly slow approvals of administration bills in the Senate, notably RCEP.
Marcos noted that Zubiri, in the course of his defense of the chamber’s record under him, had said that “even the delay in the passage of RCEP was due to the lack of support it got from the main sponsor herself who is the chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations,” a remark that Marcos said was “apparently in reference to me.”
The senator recalled that “before the Office of the President transmitted RCEP to the Senate on November 29, I had conducted a public consultation in September 2022 to urge DA [Department of Agriculture], DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and BOC [Bureua of Customs] to respond to agriculture and MSME sectors.”
As soon as the official transmittal was made, she recalled convening a hearing in December 2022.
“Again, the concerned Departments were unresponsive” the senator said, prompting her to seek Senate President Zubiri’s help to no avail, “at which I immediately told the Senate leadership in January that I would not be able to sponsor the measure without adequate protection for farmers, fisherfolk, MSME’s and aggressive measures against smuggling.”
She surmised that “the Office of the President may have overlooked officially referring RCEP [to the Senate] earlier,” but added: “I can hardly be pointed out as the cause of delay.”
Migs: Cha-cha not priority
Meanwhile, Zubiri reiterated that senators will not be rushed into tackling Charter change despite its breathtaking speed of approval in the House of Representatives.
Zubiri noted the irony that while the supposed “coup” plot against him arises from his leadership’s slow handling of priority bills, the Charter change—which will further derail their legislative work—is being foisted on them. His colleague Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian earlier aired suspicion the “coup” rumor might be tied to efforts to stampede the Senate into Charter change.
“It is not the priority of the President, it is also not our priority,” Zubiri said, ruing they are being criticized without basis.
“Binabatikos na nga kami na hindi namin natatapos yung aming legislative agenda, tapos Charter Change pa ang pag-uusapan [We’re being citized for not finishing our legislative agenda, and yet we are expected to take up Charter change]?” he asked, incredulous.
The Senate President expects the “baseless speculations are not likely to fade any time soon,” with the debates “intensive, divisive.”
This, as he also fears a parallel move to lift existing term limits, saying: “Ang mangyayari diyan, baka hindi natin mapigilan na may biglang political amendments na maipapasok, magtanggal ng term limits, o extension ng mga terms.”
As an alternative, Zubiri suggests: “Let us focus on the job at hand. Post-pandemic recovery, a Senate of national reconstruction. We will continue that agenda. We will continue to be focused on that.”
He reiterated the chamber’s commitment to help “the President in his efforts to sell the country and invite investors here. That’s our number one priority: help our countrymen rise from popverty.”
Zubiri claimed he had “no clue” where the ouster plot is coming from. “I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine. But that’s par for the course. It’s part of our territory as leader of the Senate. That also happened to Senate President Sotto, there was a time there were “coup” rumors also. It happened to Senator Koko Pimentel…same with Sen. Frank Drilon.”
Image credits: Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB
