Screengrab from video
MANILA, Philippines — Issues can get testy even on the Senate flooring, Senate President Francis Escudero stated following the altercation between Senators Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday evening.
The incident was caught on video that had since gone viral, exhibiting the 2 lawmakers nearly coming to blows.
The row was over a decision that seeks to stop the disenfranchisement of voters within the 10 barangays that the Supreme Court docket ordered transferred from Makati Metropolis’s jurisdiction to that of Taguig Metropolis, the political bailiwick of the Cayetanos.
READ: Comelec: Embo barangay residents can vote in 2025 polls
“The members of the Senate are passionate with respect to their advocacies and generally feelings run excessive on the subject of their beliefs and convictions,” Escudero stated. “We’re solely human.’’
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The incident occurred previous 9 p.m. “so the senators had been already drained,” particularly after working time beyond regulation up to now few days resulting in the adjournment of session on Sept. 25, he added.
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It began when Zubiri requested why Senate Concurrent Decision No. 23, which Cayetano authored, needed to be tackled that evening in plenary when it was not on the day’s agenda.
Getting Binay’s aspect
The decision asks the Fee on Elections (Comelec) to incorporate the ten “Embo” (or Enlisted Males’s Barrio) barangays within the two present districts of Taguig to allow them to vote and be represented in Congress as a part of a legislative district.
The 2021 Supreme Court docket choice handing over the barangays to Taguig didn’t specify the district they need to belong to. In all, they added 336,873 folks to the Taguig inhabitants.
Zubiri stated he understood Cayetano’s concern in regards to the Embo residents’ attainable disenfranchisement as voters, however that he wished the decision tackled on Wednesday so he might additional examine it.
He additionally defined that he was nonetheless attempting to get in contact with Sen. Nancy Binay, whose household dominates native politics in Makati. Nancy’s sister Abby, the present mayor, has repeatedly clashed with the Cayetanos over the Embo villages.
Nancy Binay and Cayetano had additionally argued bitterly in hearings over the ballooning value of the brand new Senate constructing underneath building in Taguig.
“I have no idea, does this have sufficient implication to Senator Binay’s illustration?” Zubiri requested.
Off-mic confrontation
In response, Cayetano stated the decision ought to now not be a priority for Makati.
The alternate grew extra hostile from there, till it pressured Zubiri to name for a suspension of the session, components of which had been recorded on the beginner video.
However each males, now off their lecterns, continued speaking to one another, with Cayetano elevating sure factors about plenary guidelines.
“No, no, don’t give me that,’’ Zubiri was heard saying.
“Don’t give me that s–t, too, pare!,’’ Cayetano shot again. “Pag lugar mo ilang beses kang nakiusap sa akin. (I bought lots requests from you when it involved your house.)”
The taunting escalated shortly, prompting different senators to face up and are available in between the 2. Cayetano let loose cuss phrases in Filipino and needed to be restrained and pushed away farther from Zubiri by his sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano.
When the session resumed minutes later, Cayetano and Zubiri acknowledged on file that they each misplaced their mood—and apologized to one another.
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The next day, the Senate media workplace launched photographs of them hugging and shaking palms.
