Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos has finally addressed the video clip of him and Cavite 8th district Rep. Aniela Tolentino that went viral last month for the wrong reason.
Netizens have criticized the two neophyte solons for allegedly playing around during the plenary session from where the clip was lifted.
"That was five seconds in a nine-hour day. So dapat pag-isipan mo naman the scale (You should also think about the scale)," Marcos told broadcaster Anthony Taberna in a recent interview. The interview is posted of Taberna's YouTube.
"May nagsasabi pa na, 'Ay nagfi-flirt sila.' Kaibigan ko yan since I was a baby (There are other who say, 'Oh they are flirting.' She's my friend since I was a baby)," the Ilocano said of Tolentino.
YOU NEED TO READ THIS:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/01/aniela-gets-distracted-by-sandro-but-what-did-he-do/
So what exactly did Marcos do that seemingly distracted Tolentino during that isolated moment? According to the former, he was merely helping out his colleague, who at that time was standing in as the majority leader.
"Dahil nagtrabaho po ako sa Kongreso noon, alam ko na yung mga kailangang sabihin sa floor. So...yung role ng majority leader, ay may mga phrases na kailangang kabisado mo na (Because I worked in Congress before, I know the things that need to be said on the floor. So...the role of the majority leader is to memorize certain phrases).
"So noong ako ay tumatayo sa katabi ng tao na nasa nagsasalita, nandoon lang ako para mag-coach ng konti. Di nila alam kung ano kailangang sabihin, binubulong ko na lang (So when I was standing beside the person talking at the podium, I was only there to coach a little. If they don't know what to say next, I whisper it to them)," Marcos explained.
At any rate, the 28-year-old told Taberna that while Congress work is serious business, "You have to enjoy what you're doing."
"Ang trabaho ng isang congressman ay seryoso naman talaga, nagpapasa ka ng batas. Pero hindi naman ibig sabihin na dahil seryoso ang trabaho, lagi kang naka-ano, lagi kang seryoso (A congressman's work is serious, since you're passing laws. But this doesn't mean that you should always look serious).
"You have to enjoy what you're doing...Congress is a body and nandun kami sa floor for nine, 10 hours a day (we're on the floor nine, 10 hours a day). Kung anu-anong ginagawa namin, ilang speech pinapakinggan namin (We do various tasks, we listen to various speeches). You have to inject a bit of light-heartedness into session. Otherwise, sa totoo lang ha, maiinip ka lang (you'll really get bored)," Marcos said.
Before he was elected as congressman last May, Marcos worked for two years as staff member of then-House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.