By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – Senators must help restore the dignity of the Senate after the May 13 shooting incident placed the institution in the international spotlight “for the wrong reasons”, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Friday.
Lacson said the chamber should recover from the incident by acting with restraint, maturity, and fidelity to its constitutional duties, including its expected convening as an impeachment court for the case of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“We landed in the international news for the wrong reasons. It was ugly — the shooting in the Philippine Senate as breaking news. So it is time to recover. The word Senate stems from the word ‘senatus’ meaning wise, mature men. So moving forward, we must do what is right and not show immaturity that will worsen the situation,” Lacson said in a radio interview.
He said the Senate’s planned convening as an impeachment court on May 18 would be a “good first step,” noting that the Constitution requires the chamber to act forthwith upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment from the House of Representatives.
“That’s one good first step because it is clear in the Constitution,” he said.
Lacson said senators must now focus on rebuilding public confidence in the institution.
“As senators we henceforth must self-reflect individually and collectively to perform our duty,” he said. “Moving forward, our focus should be to redeem the Senate from its present situation.”
He also rejected insinuations that members of the minority bloc left the Senate early on Wednesday night because they knew something would happen.
“It is an unfair and malicious insinuation that we in the minority bloc went home early and left them behind because we knew something would happen. That is quite far from the truth. There is no basis for that because no one knew what would happen that night,” Lacson said.
He said the public should wait for the results of the investigation, including closed-circuit television footage and witness testimonies, before drawing conclusions.
Lacson disputed claims that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa “at all costs,” calling the allegation irresponsible.
“Categorically, no. Such instructions would be impossible. If they were true, the Senate would have been assaulted, and there would be casualties. It is quite far from the truth — and even an irresponsible one from Senator Marcos,” he said.
On claims that the Senate was “under attack,” Lacson said investigators should establish the facts, noting reports that Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms head Mao Aplasca admitted firing the first warning shot.
“If you are under attack, the attacker should have fired first. On the contrary, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms had actually admitted to having fired first,” he said.
“Let’s just wait for the results of the investigation based on facts — the CCTV and witnesses’ testimonies. Let’s wait for the outcome of the probe,” Lacson added.
Warning vs. fake news
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) called on the public to be wary of misinformation on social media exploiting the Senate incident.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed the Anti-Cybercrime Group to assist the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in the conduct of cyber patrol against content creators who deliberately use the incident to sow fear, incite violence, and mislead the public.
“This is not the time for misinformation and an opportunity to sow fear and incite violence. Rather, this is the time for us to take a stand in fighting for what is right and just,” he said in a statement Friday.
“On the part of the PNP, we will ensure accountability against those who would dare do that.”
The DICT earlier cautioned the public against the rapid spread of unverified information and fake news related to the issue. (With a report from Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
