Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson thus rejected on Tuesday claims of "undeclared martial law" by some minority senators to the security survey and inspection (SSI) of the Senate premises by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Fire Protection, assisted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Lacson stressed that the inspection stemmed from intelligence reports indicating a security threat to the Senate, adding that no one was exempted, not even the offices of the majority bloc members.

"Martial law? All the offices of individual senators, even including that of Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, as well as those occupied by the secretariat and all other offices, were subjected to safety and security inspections to make sure that we and the Senate employees as well as the media people covering the Senate will be safe and secure from a repeat of the May 13 shooting incident and mayhem that transpired under the watch of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano," he said.

"Except for those of us who may be apprehensive that they may have kept or stored contraband items like firearms, explosives and drugs in their offices, those with clean consciences should all welcome instead of criticize the SSI that was conducted by the PNP and the Bureau of Fire Protection, assisted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added.

Earlier, Gatchalian issued an advisory to all senators and Senate offices that the SSI stemmed from persistent information and intelligence reports relayed by the National Bureau of Investigation, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and other corroborating security assessments that confirmed an "evolving security concern."

In his advisory, Gatchalian said the evolving security concern is under the context of "heightened political tensions, ongoing impeachment proceedings, anticipated mass mobilizations and the risk of actions that may threaten the security of the Senators, officials and employees, and disrupt, impede or interfere with Senate operations."

Earlier Tuesday, some minority senators objected to the inspection. Cayetano, in a Facebook livestream, questioned whether the Senate was under "martial law" because it was placed under "lockdown."

Sen. Robinhood Padilla posted on Facebook that senators should remember that the Senate belongs to civilians, and "wag po ninyong itrato na kampo tayo ng sundalo (do not treat the Senate as a military camp)," with his post supported by "trolls" who claimed the country is under "undeclared" or "silent martial law."

Lacson earlier said that whoever is using the 18 "Maleta boys", or ex-soldiers who claim to have delivered money in suitcases to various personalities, for a possible destabilization attempt cannot undermine the professionalism of the uniformed services.

He added the majority bloc is prepared for the dirty tricks they expect Cayetano to employ ahead of the special session on Wednesday.