Tito Sotto attests to Marcos' objection to VP Sara impeachment

Senator-elect Vicente 'Tito' Sotto III on Wednesday attested to the previous statement of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong Marcos Jr. emphasizing his objection to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
'I will attest to the fact that in number of times that in those moments that we are able to talk with the President… Bongbong Marcos during the course of the campaign, he was really inclined not to support the impeachment,' Sotto shared during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
Sotto ran his 2025 campaign under the Marcos administration's Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate.
'I believe, yung sinabi niya nung una baka raw makagulo sa takbo ng ekonomiya, ng gobyerno. He is reiterating it now. I agree because narinig ko sa kanya yun. I can attest the fact that he really means that he is not in favor of the impeachment process at this point,' the senator-elect added.
('I believe, what he said at first is that how the economy, the government being run might suffer. He is reiterating it now. I agree because I heard it from him. I can attest the fact that he really means that he is not in favor of the impeachment process at this point.)
In a recent interview, Marcos said he does not think the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte, his running mate in the 2022 presidential elections, will result in political turmoil, but reiterated he didn't want the impeachment in the House of Representatives.
Asked if the views of the President should be followed by his allies in the Senate, Sotto emphasized the upper chamber's independence.
'Yes, in the political world, but as far as the Senate world is concerned, the Senate has never been fully controlled by any President,' Sotto said.
The returning senator cited his experience from his previous terms, particularly on the President's preference for the Senate presidency.
'Hindi lahat ng pagkakataon ang Presidente ay nakikialam sa Senado at pwedeng makialam... Merong may mga nag-attempt na makialam pero hindi rin nasusunod eh,' he said.
(It's not all the time that the President interferes with the Senate and is not allowed to… There were previous attempts but they did not succeed.)
Among the instances that he recalled was the time of former president Fidel Ramos when he asked the upper chamber to elect someone from his party, Lakas-CMD, as Senate president.
'He was a Lakas party stalwart, but we elected an LDP president, Senator Neptali Gonzales. We do not follow the wishes of President Fidel V. Ramos who (had) only three members of Lakas in the Senate during that time,' he said.
The same happened during the time of late former president Benigno Aquino III, when the latter wished for a Senate president from the Liberal Party, but the senators elected former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile instead.
During the time of former president Joseph Estrada, Sotto said they 'acceded' to the latter's wish to elect his preferred Senate president.
Former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte did not interfere with the election of the Senate presidents during their terms, Sotto said.
''Di ko na-experience na ang presidente ay nakikialam sa Senado,' he said.
(I did not experience a President interfering with the Senate.)
Meanwhile, Sotto said that there are no so-called independent blocs in the Senate.
'In the 20th Congress, I know there'll be a majority and a minority. I don't foresee what I heard from another colleague who said merong independent bloc. There's no such thing. Why? You're either with the majority or not. So, therefore, if you're not in the majority, you're in the minority,' he said.
'If you vote to elect a Senate president, you are in the majority. Ganoon kasimple lang naman 'yun. Walang ibang interpretasyon doon. Personal na interpretasyon nila siguro… you are either in the majority or the minority,' he explained.
(It's that simple. There is no other interpretation there. Perhaps it's their interpretation.)
Recently, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros mentioned forming an independent bloc with senators-elect Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan and Bam Aquino should they not get the minority bloc due to the group of senators allied with former president Duterte who branded themselves as the opposition to the Marcos administration.
Senate presidency
In the same forum, Sotto expressed doubt that incumbent Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero, his supposed partymate in the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), will toe the party line as the race for the Senate presidency for the 20th Congress heats up.
According to Sotto, Escudero filed a leave from NPC. He did not mention when Escudero left the party.
Asked if they expect the NPC to have the highest number of seats in the 20th Congress, Sotto said, 'Kung susunod [si Chiz Escudero]. Alam mo naman, sabi ko nga sa'yo, hindi na natin alam yung alliances (Like what I said, we don't know of these alliances) ngayon ng party sa Senado because we don't know how the relationship of my former colleagues or my colleagues there are situated.'
Several senators of the 20th Congress have confirmed that Sotto and Escudero were discussing with them their bid for the Senate's top post, namely Senators Bong Go, Erwin Tulfo, and Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa.
Apart from Sotto and Escudero, Senator Imee Marcos recently said that some of their colleagues offered their support if she will run for the Senate presidency. —RF, GMA Integrated News

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