Zubiri's ouster triggered by a sore foot? Binay throws pun on 'toe-tally unprecedented' twist

Sen. Nancy Binay said on Friday, May 24 that she was caught by surprise upon learning that one of the triggering factors behind the recent "coup" in the Senate was a sore foot.

Binay was reacting to Sen. Bato dela Rosa's revelation that the reason behind former Senate President Migz Zubiri's ouster was his refusal to allow Sen. Bong Revilla—who is suffering from an Achilles tendon injury—to attend plenary sessions virtually.

"Medyo weird lang kasing isipin na sa dinami-rami ng conspiracy theories na nagsilabasan sa likod ng Senate coup, isang paa lang pala ang dahilan kung bakit nasipa at natanggal sa pwesto si Sen. Migz. So, ganoon na nga (It's a bit weird to think that out of all the conspiracies that came out behind the Senate coup, a single foot was the reason to kick Sen. Migz out of his position. I guess that's what it is), the best or worse interest of the nation is just a foot away," Binay said.

In an interview, Dela Rosa said that the move to oust Zubiri was retriggered when he earned the ire of some senators.

Bato said Sen. Francis Tolentino and now Senate President Francis Escudero moved to allow Revilla to join the session online, but Zubiri rejected it. 

According to Binay, this would be the first time in Philippine politics that a foot, despite being injured, has shown more kicking power than the powers that be.

“Kung 'yung paa ang dahilan ng pagkatanggal sa pwesto ni Sen. Migz, masasabi natin (If a foot was the reason to unseat Sen. Migz then we can say) that they have really put their best foot forward. If a sore foot can inspire such decisive action, just imagine what a fully functioning pair of feet could do. But for now, the foot has spoken. Sama-sama para sa paa ni Sen. Bong Revilla," the lady senator pointed out.

Binay said that the "SOLID 7" bloc will continue to serve as vigilant overseers, and active fiscalizers in the 19th Congress.

"SOLID 7 will continue to march forward in the 19th Congress. We will stand on two feet, or one foot. Injured or not, rest assured, we will always step up," Binay said.

In reaction to this, Revilla told reporters in a message that it may have been one of the reasons.

"Move forward na lang tayo. Pwedeng isa sa naging trigger, pero bago yan, marami nang problema (Let's just move forward. It could have been one of the triggers, but before that, there were a lot of problems)," he added.