Marcos denies ordering Zubiri's ouster

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday distanced himself from the ouster of former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, saying he was only aware of plans to remove him after being approached by Senate President Chiz Escudero.

Escudero informed Marcos "the minute he started thinking about" taking over the Senate's top post, the president said during a media interview in Brunei.

But the plan to oust Zubiri — who said during his resignation speech that his failure to follow instructions from "the powers that be" cost him the position — was made by the senators themselves, Marcos said. 

“So, that does not reflect on my view on Senator Migz and the trust and confidence that I have in him," the president said in a news release by the Presidential Communications Office.

Marcos also said that he was "not sure" what Zubiri was referring to in his speech and has not spoken to him about it.

The president added that was "basically informed at every step of the way but it moves so quickly as well." 

“But of course, we knew the state of the voting. When that was still being collected, the votes were still being collected by Senator Chiz,” Marcos said.

Allegations that Marcos was behind the recent Senate leadership shakeup came after Zubiri implied that he was ousted for allowing a Senate committee to continue its investigation on an alleged leak document linking the president to illegal drug use.

The former Senate president said he "saw it coming," and, later, described himself as the "sacrifice" for allowing Sen. Ronald dela Rosa to continue the probe. — Cristina Chi