“Get your facts straight.”
This was the response of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri to the congressmen who accused the Upper Chamber and its members of showboating in aid of re-election in 2022 after they ratified the proposed “Bayanihan to Recover as One” Act (Bayanihan 2).
Zubiri rejected as “ridiculous” the statements made by some of their counterparts in the House of Representatives after they ratified last Thursday the so-called Bayanihan 2 bill.
“I am appalled at the ridiculous statements made by some congressmen, saying that we were showboating in aid of re-election when we ratified last Thursday afternoon the Bayanihan 2 measure,” the Senate leader said in a statement.
“First of all there was no showboating as can be seen in the YouTube recorded session that Thursday. The senators were just congratulating the members of the bicam for a job well done and never did we ‘scoff at’ the ratified bill,” he added, quoting the congressmen's reported remarks.
Zubiri commented to a joint statement issued by Deputy Speaker Dan Fernandez, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor and other congressmen who claimed that the senators “ turns shaming” the final version of the Bayanihan 2.
“If our high and mighty senators feel that the consolidated Bayanihan 2 bill was not up to their standards, then why did they approve it during the bicam talks?” Fernandez said.
“They want to make it appear that they did their part in passing Bayanihan 2, obviously to worm their way into the good graces of an overwhelming majority of our people who support President Duterte and are appreciative of his administration’s comprehensive COVID-19 response measures,” he accused the senators.
“It is clear as daylight that these pathetic senators have been seized by political schizophrenia in slyly positioning way ahead of the 2022 elections at the expense of the House of Representatives. This is showboating in aid of re-election,” Fernandez added.
The congressmen also said that they were offended with the claims that they were fighting for their personal interests in the Bayanihan 2.
Zubiri, however, denied that senators belittled the ratified Bayanihan 2, stressing that they would have not approved it in the bicam level if they found it lacking.
“Please tell us, Mr. Congressmen, in which statement did we say that the bill was never up to standards? Please give, show me the exact quote because after the review of the video there were no insinuations made,” Zubiri said.
“So get your facts straight before you make any accusations toward me and the institution,” he added.
Zubiri likewise slammed their use of “very unparliamentary” words against the senators, saying that President Duterte personally asked Senate President Vicente Sotto III to make sure that the funding within the measure would be allocated with full transparency and accountability.
“There is nothing wrong to mention during our sponsorship of the measure that the amendments were born out of advocacy and with no personal gain whatsoever,” he said.
“We never alluded to anyone or any group of any ill motives as shown by the recorded video of that session. It is unfair to the senators for these congressmen to say that we alluded to them.”
“Only the guilty will feel alluded to if ever,” he added.
Following Zubiri's statement, Sotto posted on Twitter the Filipino proverb: “Ang manok kapag pumutak, nangingitlog!”
Last Thursday, Senator Pia Cayetano defended the House of Representatives from the supposed insinuations by her colleagues that congressmen were advancing their personal agenda in insisting on their P10-billion proposed allocation for tourism infrastructure, instead of assisting pandemic-hit tourism businesses and stakeholders.
Her brother is House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
While she did not call out specific senators, Sen. Cayetano said she takes offense at the criticisms against the Lower Chamber's proposal.
In an interview with DWIZ, Sen. Sonny Angara, Senate finance committee chair and sponsor of the Bayanihan 2, said he has already talked to Cayetano.
“We texted and she said she just had to say that because she wanted to protect her brother's integrity, the Speaker of the House, who was also our former colleague. For me, it's nothing, you can just shrug it off, just like when people are under pressure, under stress, they say things that others may interpret differently,” Angara said in a mix of Filipino and English.
“To me, there was genuinely a policy debate over the items there and I also understood where our counterparts are coming from. I have been a congressman and the pressure is for you to deliver to your district... First is the interest of your district, of course you will choose your district," he added.
The House will ratify the Bayanihan 2 bill on Monday, August 24. After the bill’s ratification in both chambers of Congress, it will be submitted to Malacañang for President Duterte’s approval.