Senator Alan Cayetano cast doubt on the credibility of intel reports from the National Bureau of Investigation alleging a security threat to the Senate, saying the timing was questionable, as if it were aimed at distracting the public from the testimonies of the 18 so-called “bagmen” of former lawmaker Elizaldy Co.

“The Senate must not become a stage where narratives are managed. It must remain a forum where truth is pursued,” he said.

Cayetano made the statement shortly after some senators in the Gatchalian-led faction received information about a looming security threat to the Senate, prompting heightened security on the premises.

This was followed by an advisory from the office of Senator Win Gatchalian authorizing a work-from-home arrangement from Wednesday to Thursday to ensure the safety of Senate employees amid the reported threat.

Cayetano suspected the move was a deliberate maneuver to “shift” public attention from the testimonies of the 18 bodyguards of Co, who detailed an alleged systematic corruption in the administration during the Cayetano-led bloc’s “unauthorized” Blue Ribbon Committee’s flood control probe last week.

“The timing demands honesty. This ‘threat’ surfaces precisely as the testimonies begin to press for answers from the names they have raised. We are asked to accept that this is a coincidence,” Cayetano said.

The two opposing Senate camps have been embroiled in political bickering since last week, after Gatchalian’s bloc installed him as acting leader of the chamber in his capacity as the elected Senate president pro tempore, with only 12 votes.