Senator Imee Marcos on Monday, 09 February 2026, debunked reports tagging her as the instigator of the botched coup attempt against Senate President Tito Sotto, reiterating that the leadership stripping her of the chairmanship of a powerful committee had nothing to do with the supposed shakeup.

In fact, the opposition solon claimed that she was “one of the later holdouts,” or among the last to join efforts to oust Sotto, which can be attested to by her colleagues in the minority.

“What did propel the said ‘coup’ was a general sense, amongst even majority members, that the Senate was being targeted in the various flood and infra investigations, and that senators could no longer rely on the institution to protect or defend them,” Marcos asserted.

Marcos was recently removed as chairperson of the committee on foreign relations in favor of Senator Erwin Tulfo, who belongs to the majority bloc.

The transition came on the heels of the increasingly verbal row between senators and the Chinese embassy over the ongoing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. The sharp exchanges prompted the Senate to issue a resolution denouncing Beijing’s indecent remarks against Philippine officials, with Sotto even floating a proposal to declare China’s envoy persona non grata.

Marcos was among the nine minority senators who did not sign the resolution, though she filed a separate one urging restraint to “avoid unnecessary escalation of diplomatic tensions.”

Sotto, who narrowly survived a coup attempt, claimed that Marcos’ removal further triggered efforts to unseat him.

However, the lady senator disputed this, saying she has no ill feelings toward the Senate leader. She added that she was grateful to him because Sotto retained her as committee chair, traditionally kept by the majority, despite her being a member of the minority.

In addition, Marcos pointed out that, being a staunch critic of the administration of her brother, President Marcos Jr., she did not expect anything, especially when it comes to internal politics in the Senate.

“I expect a common statement from the minority to be forthcoming, and hope that in the meantime, I am no longer blamed for being the ‘coup instigator,’” she argued.

Sotto, on the other hand, declined to comment on the issue.

Talks of a Senate coup have made headlines since last week over speculations of the minority installing Senator Loren Legarda in place of Sotto to halt the impending approval of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report.

The report, leaked to the media last week, recommends the filing of corruption charges against Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, who are facing accusations of kickbacks in flood control projects.

At the height of the supposed shakeup last Wednesday, 4 February, Senators Marcos and Estrada were seen exiting Legarda’s office, further stirring speculations of her being courted by the minority bloc to snatch the presidency from Sotto.

Sotto averred that a “term-sharing” with Legarda was unnecessary, as he had already agreed to relinquish the post pursuant to the consensus reached by the majority to make Legarda the “first woman Senate president,” but only in 2028.

Minority Leader Alan Cayetano previously said that “it was never a secret” that the opposition intends to reclaim the majority from the current leadership, though he added that they still lack the numbers to do so.

The minority would need 13 votes to remove Sotto as Senate chief. At present, there are nine members in the opposition bloc. However, their numbers could drop by one due to the continued absence of Senator Bato de la Rosa, who has been absent since November due to an alleged warrant from the International Criminal Court.