Zubiri: Mark Villar’s move to majority not connected to impeachment trial
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Mark Villar’s move to the Senate majority bloc has nothing to do with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said Thursday.
Zubiri’s remarks came after the Senate elected Villar as chairperson of the Committee on Public Works and as a member of the Commission on Appointments (CA).
These moves effectively welcomed him back to the majority bloc.
Article continues after this advertisement
“But, you know, we had a heart-to-heart discussion with Senator Mark,” the majority leader also admitted.
FEATURED STORIES
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
Asked whether these actions had something to do with securing the votes needed for Duterte’s conviction, Zubiri said it had “nothing to do with it.”
“You know, being a member of the majority doesn’t automatically mean that you will vote for conviction or for acquittal,” he told reporters in an ambush interview.
“That does not necessarily mean that,” Zubiri repeated.
“We may have members of the majority who could suddenly vote for acquittal as well. And there may also be members of the minority who will vote for conviction,” he explained.
Article continues after this advertisement
Zubiri believes, “It all has to do with the evidence, the evidence presented.”
Villar’s move brought the majority’s membership to 14 and the minority’s number to 10.
Article continues after this advertisement
Zubiri also dismissed suggestions that Villar’s previous vote to change the two-thirds conviction threshold was connected to the latter’s decision to join the majority bloc.
During the Sept. 23 vote, Villar was the lone minority member who participated in the voting.
Like most majority members, Villar voted in favor of modifying the threshold ruling.
“We had nothing to do with that. That’s a conscience vote. It was his own [decision],” Zubiri recalled.
No negotiations
Asked if he had initiated negotiations for Villar’s return, Zubiri said there were no negotiations that happened.
He said Villar expressed a desire to return to the majority because he wanted to be more productive in the Senate.
“You know, Senator Mark has always been with the majority, anyway; from the very beginning, when we started. He had just moved to the minority,” Zubiri remembered.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
“He really wants to work. And he wants committees where he can really work, get involved, and be a productive member of the Senate,” he added. /apl
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.