Escudero admits instigatingZubiri ouster

In an interview with Senate reporters, Escudero admitted that he started calling his senator colleagues on the move to oust Zubiri, but refused to divulge his reasons.
He said that he started talking with his colleagues because “there were many at the time who had doubts.”
While Zubiri earlier said he heard about the attempt to oust him on Wednesday last week, Escudero claimed he started making calls to fellow senators on Thursday.
Escudero clarified that neither Malacañang nor the House of Representatives had anything to do with changing the Senate leadership.
He, however, claimed that he met with House Speaker Martin Romualdez at a birthday party of a congressman last Wednesday. He noted the issue of Senate leadership was not discussed.
Escudero said that out of 24 senators, 15 signed a resolution calling for the leadership change. He, however, refused to provide a copy of the resolution that would allow the Senate to move forward.
Escudero said he gathered the support of 15 of the 24 senators.
And while Escudero did not name those who signed the resolution, Zubiri thanked seven in his valedictory speech – Senators Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Sherwin Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, Loren Legarda and Bato dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa, however, admitted being the 15th senator to sign the Senate resolution to oust Zubiri, who claimed he was dumbfounded about Dela Rosa’s revelation.
Zubiri did not thank Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, siblings Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Imee Marcos, Robinhood Padilla, Grace Poe, Ramon Revilla Jr., Raffy Tulfo, Cynthia Villar and son Mark Villar.
Meanwhile, Senate pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada admitted that after he and Escudero talked about the change in the Senate leadership, he also called another senator colleague to join the call for Zubiri’s ouster.
Estrada, however, did not name the senator.
Like Escudero, Estrada maintained that the Palace has nothing to do with the change of leadership in the Senate. When pressed for his reason for removing Zubiri, Estrada said: “There are a lot of factors and issues that led me to sign the resolution. I’ll just keep mum on it, there are several issues and factors.”
Zubiri dumbfounded
Zubiri yesterday said he was “shocked”
to know that Dela Rosa voted to remove him from his post as Senate president.
Zubiri had thanked Dela Rosa in his farewell speech during Monday’s session.
“To Bato Dela Rosa, who stuck it out with me to the very end. I salute you sir,” Zubiri said, reducing Dela Rosa to tears.
An emotional Dela Rosa even hugged Zubiri’s wife Audrey before Escudero’s election as Senate president.
But it turns out, Dela Rosa opted to join the majority in booting Zubiri out of the Senate presidency.
In a chance interview yesterday during session, Zubiri said: “I still could not understand, I am in shock.”
“But that’s politics. There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests,” Zubiri said.
Mistaken into thinking that Dela Rosa was with him throughout his ordeal, Zubiri at a press conference on Monday said that he would campaign for Dela Rosa in Bukidnon for his reelection bid.
But upon knowing that Dela Rosa apparently did not side with him after all, Zubiri said yesterday: “Strange things have happened in my political career, and this happens to be the strangest.”
He said he could not understand why Dela Rosa did not back him up when it was Dela Rosa’s Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) leaks investigation that contributed to him being stripped of the top Senate post.
“If I was heartbroken yesterday, today I am dumbfounded. I defended him as chairperson of the Senate public order and dangerous drugs and beca...