Zubiri dismisses Senate coup rumor

MANILA, Philippines — Rumors of a leadership coup has been spreading in the Senate, which Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has dismissed as a ploy to discredit the chamber.

“I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues. I am extremely honored to serve at the pleasure of my colleagues. It’s that simple. I leave it to the wisdom of my majority,” Zubiri told reporters yesterday afternoon.

There is talk that he could be replaced by any of his three colleagues – Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada or Sen. Grace Poe.

Senators, however, have expressed full support for Zubiri’s leadership.

“You know there is a concerted effort to discredit the Senate. I found out about that last week. So for us, we are just doing our job. We will just focus on the job at hand and we will not lose sight of the most important things to help the Filipino people. So that’s all,” he added.

The Senate President said he talked to the senators, and they said they knew nothing about a coup.

“We’ll know today if I’ll give you a farewell dinner or not,” Zubiri said in jest. “But if not, then let’s continue working. It’s important we continue working for the people. We just work for the sake of the people. No politics.”

He said he had no idea who was behind the rumors.