As tempers rise, senators nearly come to blows

A heated exchange between Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Juan Miguel Zubiri nearly erupted in a brawl at the Senate session hall on Tuesday.

The proverbial cooler heads prevailed as Senator JV Ejercito and Senator Pia Cayetano managed to get between the protagonists.

The fireworks erupted during the session’s temporary suspension and was not seen on the live Senate feed.

DAILY TRIBUNE obtained a video of the confrontation and shared it on its social media platforms.

The two senators argued over a concurrent resolution to include the 10 enlisted men’s barrios or EMBO barangays in the two legislative districts of the City of Taguig and Municipality of Pateros, a measure introduced by Cayetano.

In the video that went viral, Cayetano, from Taguig City, was seen explaining the Senate rules to Zubiri, who had questioned why the resolution was being discussed despite not being on the daily agenda.

“Under the rules, you have one day,” Cayetano was heard telling Zubiri while stepping away from the lectern. He was interrupted by Zubiri before he could finish his sentence.

“No, no. Don’t give me that…” said Zubiri.

“Don’t give me sh*t din, pare. Pag lugar mo, ilang beses kang nakiusap sa akin eh. Saka wag mo kong sigawan, ilang beses ka rin nakiusap hanggang doon,” a visibly upset Cayetano told the former Senate President. (“How many times did you ask me for favors for your turf? And don’t yell at me, you asked me for help more than once.”)

At this point, Zubiri moved closer to Cayetano.

“Anong gusto mo? (What do you want?)” Zubiri said to Cayetano’s face.

Furious, Cayetano responded, “Nag abroad ka pa. Anong gusto mo? Anong gusto mo? P*tang*na,” Cayetano slammed his phone on a desk. (“You even went abroad. What do you want? What do you want? F***”)

Senator JV Ejercito, who was standing a short distance from the two, quickly moved in between them.

“Relax, relax, relax,” said Ejercito, trying to keep them apart.

At this point, Senator Pia Cayetano rushed in and embraced her brother.

“T*ngina, sindak ka nang sindak dito eh! Bakit sinisigawan mo ko. Anong pakialam mo?! Wala ka naman pakialam sa mga boboto doon eh. Interest mo lang iniisip mo,” Cayetano screamed at Zubiri. (“F***, you’re trying to intimidate us here! Why are you yelling at me? What do you care? You don’t even care about those who will vote there. You’re only thinking of your own interests.”)

Zubiri, who remained composed, responded, “Anong sindak? Tahimik nga ako dito eh.” (“What intimidation? I’ve been sitting here quietly.”)

Still furious, Cayetano shot back, “Ano sabi ko sayo? Sabi ko, pare, baka pwede makiusap, this is too important.” (“What did I say to you? I said, ‘Man, maybe you could reconsider, this is too important.’”)

The video clip ended with the two senators being held back from a possible physical altercation.

When the session resumed, the live feed showed Cayetano asking Zubiri if he wanted to suspend the approval of the current resolution.

“Am I correct that the former Senate President wants to move to suspend consideration of this concurrent resolution and discuss it tomorrow? If yes, then…,” Cayetano said.

Zubiri replied, “First of all, I know nothing about this bill. It just came out here. This is a concurrent resolution, not just a simple Senate concurrent resolution.”

He added, “As a former majority leader, I know concurrent resolutions used to have the force of law before the Supreme Court ruled otherwise.”

He continued, “My only question is, with due respect, I know it’s a local issue important to you, and I don’t want to disenfranchise anyone. I just wish it had been explained to us first.”

Zubiri emphasized that “due courtesy” should be shown to Senator Nancy Binay, whose political family comes from Makati City.

The 10 EMBO barangays were previously under Makati’s jurisdiction until the Supreme Court settled the territorial dispute, declaring them part of Taguig City, including Bonifacio Global City.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero clarified that a concurrent resolution of Congress was “no different from an ordinary resolution,” meaning it doesn’t require three separate readings on three separate days, before he allowed Cayetano to respond to Zubiri.

Ultimately, the Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 23.

‘Tao lang kami’

A day after the heated exchange between Cayetano and Zubiri, Escudero asked the public to understand that lawmakers are just like ordinary people.

“We’re only human. Sometimes emotions run high. I hope people can understand and relate because I’m sure everyone goes through moments like that,” the Senate President said in an interview with reporters.

“Even then they didn’t expect it to happen, and both apologized to each other that same night,” he added.

Reporters waited for Cayetano at the Session Hall entrance to get his side of the issue before their 3 p.m. session, but he did not appear before the scheduled session.

Instead, his camp issued a press statement stating that he and Zubiri were able to end the plenary session last night on “good terms as they united for the passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 23.”