ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Khonghun puts Imee Marcos' 'pera-pera lang lahat' theory to the test, cites Senate coup

Khonghun puts Imee Marcos' 'pera-pera lang lahat' theory to the test, cites Senate coup

Published May 13, 2026 08:10 pm

At A Glance

  • Rep. Jay Khonghun challenges Senator Imee Marcos' claim that lawmakers' votes are driven by money or favors, pointing to the recent Senate coup that ousted Senate President Tito Sotto as a test case of her logic.
  • Bribery narrative warning is issued by Khonghun, who argues that baseless allegations of bribery weaken democratic institutions, destroy public trust, and reduce legislative processes to mere financial transactions.
  • Defense of House vote emphasizes that the overwhelming impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte was not tied to incentives, with Khonghun stressing that accusations without evidence—based only on suspicion or conspiracy theories—undermine democracy itself.
Senator Imee Marcos (left), Zambales 1st district Rep Jay Khonghun (Facebook)
Senator Imee Marcos (left), Zambales 1st district Rep Jay Khonghun (Facebook)


House Deputy Speaker Zambales 1st district Rep Jay Khonghun said Wednesday, May 13 that he wants to test Senator Imee Marcos' alleged theory that money, projects, or financial favors make the world go round in Congress.
As a test case, Khonghun pointed to the Senate coup d'etat last Monday, May 11 wherein Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as ousted by his colleagues and replaced with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
“Kung susundin natin ang lohika ni Sen. Imee Marcos — na kapag bumoto ang isang mambabatas, ibig sabihin ay may kapalit na pera, proyekto, o pabor — then the same question must now be asked about the sudden coup in the Senate,” Khonghun said.
(If we follow Senator Imee Marcos’ logic — that when a lawmaker votes, it means there is money, a project, or a favor in exchange — then the same question must now be asked about the sudden coup in the Senate.)
“How much did senators allegedly receive to remove Senate President Tito Sotto? What promises were made? What concessions were given? What projects were offered? Sino ang makikinabang? (Who benefitted from this?)” asked the "Young Guns" bloc member.
Khonghun warned that the continued spread of unsupported bribery narratives weakens democratic institutions and destroys public trust in elections and governance.
“Kapag bawat boto ng halal na opisyal ay inaakusahan agad na bayaran, ang tunay na sinisira ay demokrasya mismo. Ang mensahe sa taumbayan: wala nang prinsipyo, wala nang proseso, pera-pera na lang lahat. That is a reckless and cynical way to destroy institutions,” he said.
(When every vote of an elected official is immediately accused of being bought, what is truly being destroyed is democracy itself. The message to the people: there are no more principles, no more process, everything is just about money.)
Earlier, Senator Marcos alleged that the House leadership dangled incentives to congressmen who would vote for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. These incentives purportedly included P5 million in cash, P3 million in additional Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) per month, and P150 million worth of projects.
This has been flatly denied by House officials.
Khonghun said he was not making an accusation against senators, rather, he was exposing the dangerous and irresponsible logic being used by Senator Marcos to attack House members.
“Napakadaling magbato ng akusasyon kapag walang ebidensya ang kailangan. Kapag ang batayan na lang ay hinala, intriga, at conspiracy theory, then no democratic institution will survive,” noted the deputy speaker.
(It is very easy to throw accusations when no evidence is required. When the basis is only suspicion, intrigue, and conspiracy theory, then no democratic institution will survive.)
The House leader said senators and political personalities cannot recklessly accuse congressmen of being bribed for impeachment votes while expecting the public to treat political upheavals in the Senate differently.
“You cannot poison public discourse by normalizing baseless allegations against House members, then suddenly demand sobriety and restraint when political realignments happen inside the Senate,” Khonghun said.
The House of Representatives impeached Vice President Duterte last Monday via an overwhelming vote of 257-25-9 (yes-no-abstain).

Related Tags

Jay Khonghun imee marcos Impeachment Sara Duterte
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.