The attempt to detain Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was never really about dela Rosa himself — that is the contention of Senator Imee Marcos, who on Thursday laid out what she described as a sweeping political scheme designed to overhaul Senate leadership, rewrite the constitution, and keep incumbents in power well beyond their current mandates.
Speaking on ANC on May 21, the presidential sister alleged that factions pushing to unseat the sitting Senate leadership had far larger ambitions in mind, chief among them a constituent assembly that would suspend national elections and extend the terms of sitting legislators, members of the House, and even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. through 2031.
“The issue really was not Bato after all. It was really the leadership of the Senate,” she said.
Among the proposals she described was one that would raise the minimum age requirement for the presidency from 45 to 50 years — a change she said was calibrated to block Vice President Sara Duterte from seeking the nation’s highest office. She characterized this as part of an inducement offered to lawmakers ahead of the House impeachment vote against Duterte.
“Don’t worry about the churches, don’t worry about Visayas, Mindanao, and the DDS because there will be no election. ‘No-el’ ang benta nila,” Marcos said.
She added that efforts were simultaneously underway to slow down the congressional investigation into flood control projects, citing what she described as mounting evidence connecting prominent figures to the controversy. Discussions on the proposed 2027 and 2028 national budgets, she alleged, were also being shaped in ways that could bankroll a constituent assembly push.
Pressed repeatedly on the basis for her claims, Marcos pointed to sources she described as credible participants in private meetings.
“Yes, they’re credible. They attended the meetings held in Solaire Hotel,” she said, while conceding she was not certain whether those individuals would go on the record.
Invoking her own family history, Marcos drew on the legacy of her father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to underscore the stakes of political entrenchment.
“If there’s anyone who knows the consequences of self-perpetuation and corruption, it should be me,” she said. “Kaya wag na wag nilang gagawin yan.”
