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Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday said it was his personal decision to skip Monday’s plenary session following the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is facing plunder charges linked to alleged congressional insertions and kickbacks tied to anomalous flood control projects.
Interviewed on dzBB Super Radyo, Marcoleta said he opted not to attend the plenary session after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla allegedly reneged on an understanding that Estrada would be escorted outside Senate premises before being arrested.
Marcoleta also claimed that Remulla raised his voice at Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano during the commotion.
“Pumayag na si SILG sa pag-uusap pa lang namin. Bababa kami para i-escort lang siya sa labas,” Marcoleta said.
(The SILG had already agreed during our discussions that we would escort Estrada outside.)
“Hindi man lang kami pinagbigyan. Sinigawan nang sinigawan si Senate President. Bakit naman ganoon ang naging pagtrato? Parang minaliit kami,” he added.
(We were not accommodated. The Senate President was repeatedly shouted at. Why were we treated that way? It felt like we were being belittled.)
Alan Peter Cayetano and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla figured in a standoff after members of the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) served an arrest warrant against Estrada at the Senate.
Video clips shared online showed the two officials in a tense exchange as PNP-CIDG personnel read Estrada his Miranda rights.
“Hindi ako nagpo-protesta. Ang damdamin ko kahapon ang namayani dahil bakit ganito na ang pagtrato sa amin? Minaliit kami masyado… Hindi collective decision,” Marcoleta said.
(I am not protesting. My emotions took over yesterday because of how we were treated. We were belittled… Our absence was not a collective decision.)
Marcoleta expressed disappointment with minority senators and defended the majority bloc’s absence from the plenary session in the aftermath of the incident.
“Wala man lang pinakita na protesta… 24 kami, dapat walang iwanan. Ang Presidente ng Senado dapat igalang. Meron ba isa sa kanila nagsabi sa SILG na huwag ganoon?” he added.
(None of them showed protest… We are 24 and should not abandon one another. The Senate President should be respected. Did anyone even tell the SILG not to act that way?)
Estrada voluntarily surrendered to the PNP-CIDG after the Sandiganbayan issued a second arrest warrant against him, this time for plunder. Remulla, however, clarified that the senator was arrested inside the Senate and was read his Miranda rights.
Following Estrada’s arrest, members of the majority bloc skipped the plenary session, stalling Senate proceedings.
Only members of the minority bloc were present at the session hall by 5 p.m. Monday, the scheduled start of session based on the Senate’s May 26 adjournment, and waited until past 7 p.m.
Marcoleta said he remained at the Senate but chose not to attend the session. He added that he would attend Tuesday’s plenary.
The lawmaker also criticized the presence of spectators in the Senate gallery who displayed banners expressing support for the Senate.
“Paano ka naman masisiyahan na pumunta roon? Ang nandoon sa gallery mismo, na reserved sa mga dignitary… Dapat walang ganito. Inimbita nila mismo ang mga iyon. Ano bang gusto nilang palabasin? Ang Senado sa kanila?” he said.
(How can you feel okay attending after what happened? Then there were people in the gallery—reserved for dignitaries—raising banners. That should not happen. They invited those people themselves. What are they trying to show? That the Senate belongs to them?)
‘Damn your feelings’
A member of the minotiry bloc, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, meanwhile, fired back at Marcoleta over his remarks criticizing minority senators for not protesting Remulla’s supposed actions toward Cayetano.
“So, kasalanan pa ng minority bloc na hindi nag-protesta dahil sinigawan ang Senate President natin?” Lacson said.
(Is it now the minority bloc’s fault that we did not protest after Remulla raised his voice against our Senate President?)
“Actually, laking pasasalamat nga namin na hindi siya binigwasan ni Sec. Jonvic dahil sa inasal niya kahapon. Damn your damdamin,” he added.
(We are actually thankful he was not punched by Sec. Jonvic because of his behavior yesterday. Damn your feelings.)—MCG, GMA News