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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Baka di lang nabasa': Erwin Tulfo dispels claim minority senators not worried over colleagues after Senate shooting

'Baka di lang nabasa': Erwin Tulfo dispels claim minority senators not worried over colleagues after Senate shooting

Published May 21, 2026 10:17 am
Perhaps Senator Pia Cayetano was not able to read the messages from her colleagues in the minority bloc checking up on them after the shooting incident in the Senate last week.
Senator Pia Cayetano during the plenary session at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on May 20, 2026. (Mark Balmores)
Senator Pia Cayetano during the plenary session at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on May 20, 2026. (Mark Balmores)
This was according to Senator Erwin Tulfo, who said that he personally messaged: "Praying for all of you there" when he learned of the shooting incident last week.
"Baka hindi lang po nabasa ni Senadora Pia yung group chat naming sa WhatsApp (Maybe Senator Pia was not able to read our messages in WhatsApp)," Tulfo said in a radio interview on DZMM.
Cayetano turned emotional during her manifestation in the plenary session on Wednesday, May 20, as she objected to remarks made by Senator Risa Hontiveros that “parang walang nangyari (it seems like nothing happened)” following the incident.
For her part, Hontiveros later clarified that her earlier statement referred not to the emotions or trauma experienced by those present during the incident, but to what she described as the Senate’s “institutional posture” afterward.
Cayetano mentioned that no one from the minority bloc checked on them to know how they were doing. A screenshot of a portion of the conversation on the night of the incident is now going viral to show otherwise.
Asked why Cayetano felt this way, Tulfo said that this may have something to do with the speculation that the minority plotted the incident.
"Kahit ako siguro kung sasama ang loob ko na kasamahan mo, paplanuhin yung ganon na manggugulo. Pero honestly speaking, hindi naman po galing sa amin yun. Wala po kaming lahat doon (Even I, perhaps, if I were resentful as your colleague, might plan something like that to cause trouble. But honestly speaking, that did not come from us. None of us were involved there)," he said.
"Siguro ang sama ng loob niya na, 'Bakit itong mga minority, wala dito? Nandito kami. Nangyari ito.' Actually, ang dapat po tanungin yung SP (Maybe he was really upset, thinking, ‘Why are the minority members not here? We’re the ones here. This happened.’ Actually, the one who should be asked is the Senate President)," he added.
Tulfo said that there was meeting that was initially announced by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano as a gathering of both majority and minority senators, but was later limited to the majority bloc, prompting minority members to leave instead of waiting outside for information.
“What were we supposed to do there? We were not invited. We could not exactly gatecrash their caucus,” he said,

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Erwin Tulfo Pia Cayetano Senate shooting Risa Hontiveros
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