House Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V clapped back at the twice-impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, June 10 for likening the Senate leadership squabble to the affairs of the Marcos administration.

Ortega was reacting to the Vice President’s supposed statement where the latter said, "Ang kaguluhan sa Senado ay nagsasalamin ng leadership ng administration."

(The disorder in the Senate reflects the leadership of the administration.)

Ortega, a member of the House Young Guns bloc, didn’t agree with this assessment, given the personalities involved in the intramurals in the upper chamber.

"Ma'am VP, respectfully, parang mahirap sisihin ang Malacañang sa gulo ng Senado kung karamihan sa mga bida sa drama ay mga BFF (best friends forever) at political allies mo rin," he said.

(Ma’am VP, respectfully, it seems difficult to blame Malacañang for the Senate’s disorder if most of the main players in the drama are also your best friends and political allies.)

"Baka before pointing fingers, check muna kung sino ang nasa group chat (Maybe before pointing fingers, first check who’s in the group chat)," added Ortega, a second-termer in the House of Representatives, which is the other legislative chamber in the bicameral Congress.

Ortega didn't identify the senators whom he insinuated were pro-Duterte.

The crux of the Senate impasse if who between Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and erstwhile Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano truly calls the shots.

Caught in between these head-butting factions is the Senate impeachment trial against Duterte, which could face delays if the situation in the upper chamber gets protracted and/ or ugly.

Then there are the hapless Senate employees, who at times have to deal with contradicting orders from the two Senate Presidents.

House prosecution panel spokesperson Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong reckoned that the Senate situation calls for statesmanship from the senators who will eventually sit as judges in the impeachment proceedings.

“This is a call not only for the Senate to immediately proceed with the trial, but this is also a call for statesmanship. And the people are evaluating individual senators in this case,” Adiong said, also on Wednesday.

The House prosecution panel is preparing for the June 18 pretrial conference and remains focused on presenting its evidence and witnesses before the impeachment court.

Adiong said the Senate’s internal questions should be settled in a manner that protects the credibility of the impeachment process.

“The important thing is for the impeachment trial to move forward in a credible, orderly, and constitutionally sound manner, with no room for confusion as to the authority of the court,” he said.