The Senate floor erupted Tuesday with the fiery exchange between Senators Panfilo Lacson and Rodante Marcoleta who traded sharp words and turned the opening of the session into a tense showdown.

The clash erupted after Lacson accused Marcoleta of “obsessing” over him, saying that Marcoleta had repeatedly dragged his name into controversies surrounding the Senate’s flood control probe and issues related to the West Philippine Sea.

Lacson’s blistering privilege speech came a day after Marcoleta took the floor Monday night to criticize the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), which Lacson heads, for what he described as the slow release of its report on the corruption in flood control projects.

Marcoleta pointed out that the committee had been conducting hearings for seven months, yet the report still has not been released despite mounting calls for accountability in the flood control controversy.

But Lacson fired back sharply, dismissing Marcoleta’s remarks and branding him as “bida-bida” — an attention seeker — whom he accused of repeatedly stirring up controversy to target him.

“I could have effortlessly dismissed Senator Marcoleta’s statements, as I refuse to dignify his ego-driven provocations. But when the attacks shift from professional to obsessively personal, I must shut the whole political circus down — firmly, completely and without ambiguity,” Lacson said in his speech.

Lacson posited that Marcoleta’s relentless tirades were driven by a personal grudge, noting that Marcoleta had initially led the powerful Blue Ribbon Committee before he took over in September last year following the leadership shakeup in the Senate.

“Since Senator Marcoleta always seems to want to be the star, whether as the former BRC chairman, or in matters concerning the West Philippine Sea, or any issue involving China, or even in the restitution of the Discaya couple, he will indeed be the central figure of my statement this afternoon,” Lacson said in Filipino.

The BRC chair then tore into his blistering speech, accusing Marcoleta of “obsessing with tagging and badmouthing” him as well as defending China.

He cited multiple occasions where Marcoleta allegedly pushed pro-Beijing narratives, including, among others, a Commission on Appointments hearing in February, where Marcoleta “suggested” giving up the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea to ease tensions with Beijing.

Lacson also took issue with Marcoleta’s statements in several interviews where he “undermined the authority and collective integrity” of the BRC.

In his privilege speech on Monday, Marcoleta suggested a possible coverup by the committee for several members of Congress accused of involvement in the flood control fiasco. He also slammed the BRC chair over its alleged resistance to probe the allegations of P805 billion in kickbacks allegedly delivered by the supposed 18 Marines to top government leaders, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcoleta also slammed the committee over its alleged refusal to summon Malacañang officials linked to corruption allegations in its hearings, including former legislative liaison officer Adrian Bersamin, whom Lacson himself tagged in the kickback scheme.

Moreover, Marcoleta took a swipe at the alleged lack of formality of the BRC’s partial report. He said his office received the report on 11 February, but it did not bear Lacson’s signature, raising concerns about its credibility.

Lacson, however, countered that those were only “advanced copies” sent to all panel members for swift review. Nonetheless, he said, Marcoleta’s office was properly informed that the hard copy of the committee report, with over 400 pages, was available in Lacson’s office for their signature, only for Marcoleta to ignore it.