Returning from his state visit to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday delivered a pointed assessment of the Senate he once served in, declaring that the gun-related episode that rattled the chamber on May 13 had not been real.
The president made the remarks during a Kapihan session with journalists on the closing day of his trip. He told reporters he had been informed the shooting was staged, recounting his confusion at the sequence of events. “Nagbago eh. Tapos narating pa tayo sa putukan. Tapos fake pala ‘yung putukan. Tapos hindi ko maintindihan,” he said.
Much of Marcos’ frustration centered on what he described as the chamber’s slide into personal hostilities, a far cry from the institution he knew as a legislator. He drew a contrast between the rigorous policy clashes of his own time and the current climate, noting that disagreements then never spilled into personal grievances. “Naging personal. Ang babaw na nang usapan. Dahil ang kuwento ko nga, iyon na nga kuwento ng… Mayroong mga senador na pagka mayroon kaming pinag-uusapan na sa trabaho, hindi kami naga-agree talaga. At saka tatayo, mag-interpolate. At saka ‘yung interpolation talagang mabigat. At saka well-studied and no-holds-barred interpolation,” Marcos told reporters.
He recalled that colleagues who sparred fiercely on the floor would afterward share coffee and meals, keeping professional friction separate from personal ties. Reflecting on the change, the president said the chamber no longer resembled the body he had known, attributing the shift to the personal nature disputes had taken on.
The president’s comments followed a turbulent stretch at the Senate. Senators have been at odds over a measure that would permit online voting, a dispute that drove the minority bloc to abandon the plenary floor during Tuesday’s session. The May 13 incident itself preceded the vanishing of Senator Ronald dela Rosa from the chamber’s custody.
Marcos also took aim at the Senate’s role in shielding individuals wanted by the law, stating that the chamber “is now sheltering fugitives from justice.” Dela Rosa had taken cover at the Senate following the International Criminal Court’s unsealing of an arrest warrant against him, before the disorder of May 13 unfolded.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla had earlier said the available evidence indicated no attack on the Senate had occurred on May 13, though investigators stopped short of confirming the gunfire was deliberately staged.
Questioning how the institution had arrived at such a state, Marcos said he could not grasp how a legislative body was meant to operate while caught up in such matters.
