Imee Marcos: Some senators asked me to vie for Senate presidency
Reelected Senator Imee Marcos said Friday some of her colleagues in the upcoming 20th Congress have asked her to vie for the Senate presidency.
Marcos disclosed this in a statement, but she did not give details about her response to the "proposal."
"Some senators have approached me with the proposal to be their candidate for Senate President," she said.
"Whoever will be elected by our peers, whether it is me or not, there are certain congressional reforms that need to be undertaken," she added.
Marcos emphasized in her statement the need to reform the budgetary process, particularly the traditions during the bicameral conference committee on the annual national spending plan bill.
"The most important is reform in the budgetary process. Tigilan na ang mahiwagang bicam (Stop the 'magical' bicam sessions). The right priorities in spending, considering our recurring fiscal deficits and huge indebtedness, must be legislated: food security and support to our farmers and fishermen; education; health and truly necessary social services," she said.
She likewise objected to the statement of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., will sit in the budgetary process as an observer.
"Parenthetically, once the OP (Office of the President) has submitted the NEP (National Expenditure Program) to Congress, the power of the purse must be respected. The DBM statement that the president will involve himself in the budgetary process after the NEP is submitted is infirm and unconstitutional," she said.
GMA News Online has reached out to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin regarding Senator Marcos' statement, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.
In the same statement, Imee raised the need for electoral reforms, including political party reforms which she said have become "mere tools for personal ambition rather than the public interest."
"Above all, the Senate as the guardian of national interest must always be upheld; its independence non-negotiable," she said.
Apart from Imee, other senators of the 20th Congress who are reportedly vying for the chamber's top post were current Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero and Senator-elect Vicente "Tito" Sotto III.
Reelected Senator Bong Go earlier confirmed that Sotto and Escudero have discussed with him separately the Senate presidency in the 20th Congress.
Last week, reelected Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said at least 13 senators of the 20th Congress have expressed preference for a Senate president who is "independent, transparent, and competent." — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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