Chiz advises Manuel not to 'fan the flames of hatred' amid political noise

Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero on Tuesday hit back at Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel for criticizing the upper chamber’s execution of its so-called institutional courtesy.

“May I remind Cong. Manuel that this same institutional courtesies were extended to his compatriots and associates (collectively called then as the ‘Batasan 5’) nearly two decades ago,” Escudero said, in response to Manuel’s allegation that the Senate is using institutional courtesy to block the potential arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa by the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to charges on crimes against humanity.

“Gamit na gamit ang institutional courtesy para hindi mabuklat ang budget ng OVP at ng Presidente, tapos ngayon gagamitin uli ito para itago ang isang Senador dahil lang napapraning na siya? (Institutional courtesy is being misused to prevent the budgets of the OVP and the President from being scrutinized, and now it's being used again to shield a Senator just because he’s getting paranoid?)” said Manuel.

In response, Escudero said the Senate is “simply applying this institutional courtesy uniformly to all members of Congress, regardless of political color or persuasion and the nature of charges against them.”

He then urged Manuel not to escalate or worsen the current situation by promoting hatred or division.

“May I additionally advise him to not further fan the flames of hatred and divisiveness at this time and instead to take heed of the experiences and lessons of history which may serve him well later,” Escudero said.