Imee for SP pushed, too

Senator Imee Marcos on Friday revealed that some of her colleagues in the Senate were wooing her to replace Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Senator Marcos, who earned a fresh six-year term in the recent midterm elections, did not name the senators or clarify if the replacement was going to be before the end of the 19th Congress.

“Some senators have approached me with the proposal to be their candidate for Senate President,” she said in a statement.

“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.

Incumbent senators of the 19th Congress are set to resume the session on 2 June, ahead of the sine die adjournment on 13 June. This means they would have only six session days left.

Meantime, the newly elected senators will assume their official duties in July, following the opening of the 20th Congress.

If it is for the 20th Congress, Senator Marcos will be in a three-way race against Senator-elect Vicente “Tito” Sotto, who is also rumored to replace Escudero, and Escudero himself who has been the leader of the Senate since May of last year.

Sotto earlier expressed his intent to lead the 24-member chamber once again, a post he held during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Without divulging their names, Sotto said three to four senators were urging him to run.

Escudero, for his part, has said he would let the majority decide whether they still want him in the post.

To unseat Escudero, who has been Senate President since May of last year, his challenger would need to secure at least 13 votes from fellow senators.

The Senate President, who is also the presiding officer and the leader of the majority group, is the most powerful figure in the Senate.

Under the Constitution, the Senate President is second in the line of succession for the presidency, after the vice president.

Meanwhile, Senator Marcos on Friday expressed her disapproval of the plan of her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to involve himself in the budgetary process of Congress.

In a statement, the senator said that while there must be reforms in the budgetary process, the power of Congress must be respected by the Office of the President (OP).

“Parenthetically, once the OP has submitted the NEP (National Expenditure Program) to Congress, the power of the purse must be respected,” she said.

“The DBM (Department of Budget and Management) statement that the President will involve himself in the budgetary process after the NEP is submitted is infirm and unconstitutional,” she added.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman earlier said the President is actively monitoring the processes of the administration’s budget for 2026, which is a proposed P11 trillion, a 20-percent increase from this year’s P9 trillion.

According to Senator Marcos, the national budget for the next fiscal year must be focused on the right priorities, particularly food security, education, health, and other social services.

“The most important is reform in the budgetary process. Let’s stop the magical bicam. 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.

The senator underscored that electoral reforms must be prioritized, 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 the national interest must always be upheld, its independence non-negotiable,” she added.

The 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is deemed controversial due to certain provisions that are now being challenged before the Supreme Court.

Petitioners argued that the GAA is unconstitutional for failing to allocate mandatory funding for PhilHealth, unlawfully increasing appropriations beyond the President’s recommendations, and allocating the highest budget to infrastructure over education.

They also said the GAA is unconstitutional since the Bicameral Committee Report on the General Appropriations Bill contained blank items.

Estrada: Escudero will keep post

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Friday downplayed a rumored leadership change in the Senate and expressed confidence that Senate President Escudero will retain his position.

In an interview, Estrada said that while discussions about possible changes in Senate leadership may occur as the 20th Congress approaches, he believes Escudero will remain as Senate President.

“Everything is still possible, everything is still fluid. We still have one month to talk about things, to negotiate — that’s how it is when the opening of Congress is near,” he said.

“I’ve been a witness to that, and everything is still fluid, but I’m confident SP Escudero will retain his post,” he added.