Zubiri resigned from the Senate in August 2011 following allegations of poll fraud during the 2007 elections and an electoral protest filed by Koko Pimentel. He continued to deny the allegations.[7][8][9][10] His resignation marked a first in Senate history, as other senators who left the Senate did so in order to take up another post in public office.[11]
Zubiri is involved in Arnis as a former player and sports executive. Zubiri began training for Arnis, a martial art and the national sport of the Philippines, at the age of sixteen. He won the Arnis World Championship title in 1989, defeating Jeff Finder of the United States.[12]
He would be elected as the inaugural president and chairman of the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF). The organization established in 2017 would become the national sports association for the sport of Arnis in the Philippines as an affiliate member of the Philippine Olympic Committee.[13]
Political career
Congress
After serving as chief of staff of his father, Representative Jose Maria Zubiri, Jr., from 1995 to 1998, he ran for the seat representing the third district of Bukidnon to be vacated by his father, who was term-limited in the 1998 elections. Winning easily in that election, he served his first term in the 10th Congress. During his first term, he was one of the members of what the media dubbed as the "Spice Boys", a group of neophyte and two-term congressmen who were openly critical of President Joseph Estrada's administration. He was subsequently re-elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in the 2001 and 2004 elections.
In the final tally for the 2007 senatorial race by the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec), Rep. Zubiri narrowly defeated opposition candidate Koko Pimentel for the 12th and last slot in the Senate. Zubiri had a total of 11,001,730 votes against Pimentel's 10,983,358 votes.[14] The margin of some 18,372 votes was strongly contested, particularly the votes from the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, where Pimentel had lost to Zubiri by a landslide.
Claiming that the votes in Maguindanao were tainted,[15] Pimentel petitioned the Philippine Supreme Court to invalidate the votes from Maguindanao, effectively disenfranchising a whole province. The Supreme Court voted unanimously 14 -0 against Pimentel and allowed the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) to count the votes in Zubiri's favor. Pimentel then returned to the Supreme Court for a second time. This time, he petitioned the justices to issue a restraining order against the proclamation of Zubiri. After oral arguments, however, the High Tribunal again voted to uphold the COMELEC's decision to proclaim Zubiri, consequently failing to grant Pimentel's petition.[16] The next day, July 14, 2007, Zubiri was duly proclaimed elected to the Philippine Senate. However, the Court's judgment did not prevent Pimentel from bringing his poll protests to the Senate Electoral Tribunal.
On March 14, 2008, the Supreme Court, in a 40-page decision penned by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, dismissed Koko Pimentel petition to stop the Commission on Elections from canvassing votes from the province of Maguindanao,[17] a definite morale booster for Senator Zubiri.
Senator Zubiri (2nd from left) with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (center) in October 2008
While serving his stint in the Senate, Zubiri began advocating a more in-depth study of biofuels in order to prevent food shortages, all the while allowing current production of alternative clean energy and biofuels so as to lessen dependence on imported oil and allow the Philippine economy a new avenue of economic success, "especially in this day and age of constant rising oil prices".[18] In the 14th Congress of the Philippine Senate, he became SenateMajority Leader, replacing Senator Francis Pangilinan on November 17, 2008.[3] During his Majority Leadership, the Senate passed a record 650 bills.[citation needed]
On August 3, 2011, however, during his privilege speech on the floor in the Philippine Senate, Zubiri suddenly announced his resignation from the body.[7] In his speech, Zubiri expressed how his family was affected by the accusations against him. He also denied any wrongdoing and stating that he was falsely accused of electoral fraud. He also mentioned the negative impact of the accusations on his family and the start of a trial by publicity.
His resignation was lauded by Malacañang and various sectors,[19][20] but was also seen as a step that helped restore the Filipino's faith in national electoral protests. Senator Francis Pangilinan, a member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal, likewise refused to comment on what the next procedure is for the vacancy left by Zubiri.[21]
In 2013, Zubiri ran for the Senate under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance ticket but lost, placing 14th out of the 12 seats with 11,821,134 votes.
In 2016, he ran again for the Senate as an independent candidate. Zubiri was adopted by various political parties who considered his popularity among voters of various age and social groups. With 16 million votes, he placed sixth in the polls, making him successful this time.
In the 17th Congress, he was once again elected as Senate Majority Leader on May 21, 2018, succeeding Tito Sotto, who was elected Senate President.[4]
In 2022, Zubiri successfully defended his seat. Running as an independent candidate with the support of the UniTeam Alliance (which supported Bongbong Marcos in the concurrent presidential election), the MP3 Coalition (which supported Manny Pacquiao for President), and previously TRoPa (which supported Leni Robredo for President), he received nearly 19 million votes, finishing eighth out of twelve successful candidates.
In late May 2022, he announced his candidacy for the position of President of the Senate, to succeed Tito Sotto, who was retiring. On June 1, Cynthia Villar, who was considered his main rival, withdrew from the race and endorsed him for the ballot scheduled to be held in late July.[22][23][24] On the same day, he was elected President pro tempore, the second most senior position in the Senate, to fill out the remaining few weeks of the term of Ralph Recto, who had vacated the post to take up a seat in the House of Representatives.[1] On July 25, 2022, Zubiri, being the only nominee for the post, was elected as Senate President.[25]
On May 20, 2024, Zubiri resigned as Senate President and was abruptly succeeded by Senator Francis Escudero.[26] It was revealed that 15 senators voted to oust Zubiri as Senate President, while seven senators voted to retain him, and the two-member minority bloc abstained.[27] In his farewell address, Zubiri emphasized his support for the independence of his colleagues and attributed his departure to not following higher authorities' instructions, stating his commitment to the Senate's integrity.[28]
Zubiri, a Roman Catholic, has described himself as "a pro-life and pro-family legislator", with "a strong belief in the sanctity and insolubility of marriage".[29]
Following a meeting with Pope Francis in June 2024, Zubiri said that the pontiff left him a mandate to "protect the Filipino family".[30]
