黑料社

Don鈥檛 look at us.

Malaca帽ang on Thursday denied having a hand in the supposed move to oust Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, saying that the latter remained a good ally who pushed most of President Benigno Aquino鈥檚 agenda in the Senate and should stay on as its leader.

鈥淲e have a good working relationship with the Senate President,鈥� said Secretary Edwin Lacierda, presidential spokesperson, in a Malaca帽ang briefing.

Lacierda said the ruling Liberal Party (LP) also denied any part in a supposed plot to oust Enrile and that Enrile himself had cleared the party.

鈥淭he Senate President himself mentioned that the LP was not involved,鈥� said Lacierda.

Enrile confirmed having received information about a plot to oust him as early as a month ago. He said a number of senators were unhappy with the way he was running things, including allocating budgets and positions.

But he said the plot against him was 鈥減ersonal鈥� and did not involve Senate power blocs like the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Talk of a Senate coup also cropped up on the heels of Mr. Aquino鈥檚 announcement of a coalition of the three major parties鈥擫P, NP and the Nationalist People鈥檚 Coalition (NPC)鈥攆or the May 2013 elections.

Effective ally

听

Enrile, Lacierda stressed, remained an effective administration ally, even though he was against the reproductive health (RH) bill and the sin tax bill, both of which were supported by the Aquino administration.

The President鈥檚 differences with Enrile on the RH bill and the sin tax bill were not enough cause for the LP to move for his ouster, Lacierda said.

鈥淣o, not to my knowledge,鈥� he added.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a very healthy relationship with the Senate,鈥� he stressed, when asked if Malaca帽ang preferred that Enrile stay on as its leader.

Another Malaca帽ang official, also an LP member but who sought anonymity for lack of authority to speak, said he also was not aware of a plot against Enrile, believing that the Senate President had made his revelation to preempt any ouster moves against him.

鈥淚t was meant to preempt any plans, but I鈥檓 not aware of any plans,鈥� said the official, who added though that the administration鈥檚 allies could muster the votes to oust Enrile if they wanted to.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday that with Enrile himself talking about it, any plot had been virtually nipped in the bud.

Lacson said Enrile has been supportive of the President鈥檚 agenda as shown by the Senate鈥檚 passage of the synchronized election bill in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and in the successful removal of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Height of ingratitude

听

Lacson, an ally of both the President and Enrile, said 鈥渋t will be the height of ingratitude if [the LP members] went along with the plot to oust the Senate President. And it might create more problems than solutions.鈥�

鈥淚f the Senate President goes to the minority [and] becomes its leader, the legislative agenda and the bills the administration are pushing may further be derailed,鈥� he said.

Preemptive move

For his part, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano admitted having differences with Enrile but denied taking part in or even knowing of a plot to oust him.

Cayetano agreed Enrile鈥檚 revelation could be a ploy to preempt any moves to unseat him amid the heated discussions on certain bills now going on in the upper chamber.

鈥淚 am in the minority and the minority would want to become the majority. But [any plot] could not come from us because there are only three of us,鈥� said Cayetano in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

鈥淚 have disagreements with the Senate President on some issues but I never questioned his leadership,鈥� added Cayetano, an NP member.

Cayetano is the brother and party mate of RH bill author and sponsor, Senator Pia Cayetano.

Enrile is a member of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) which in turn has coalesced with Vice President Jejomar Binay鈥檚 PDP-Laban in the opposition United Nationalists Coalition (UNA).

Cayetano said the administration coalition has since clarified that it was only set up for next year鈥檚 polls and not to seek a change in the Senate leadership.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no active plot.听 I don鈥檛 see people talking about it,鈥� he said.