Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano insists his stream of online broadcasts is no different from what his critics in the Senate do themselves — and he’s now naming them directly.
In a Facebook livestream on Thursday, June 18, the senator singled out brothers Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, pushing back against the recurring complaint that he resorts to social media rather than showing up for chamber business.
“Ba’t kayo galit na galit pag nagfe-Facebook ako? Eh ang hilig nyo rin mag-Facebook,” he said, turning the criticism back on the two senators who have repeatedly faulted him for it.
Cayetano’s reliance on livestreaming drew scrutiny earlier when his bloc stayed away from plenary sessions for two days while he was still leading the Senate. During that stretch, the Tulfos were among those who accused him of conducting business on Facebook instead of in the session hall.
He argued that his audience numbers outpace those of the two brothers, attributing the gap to his willingness to speak plainly.
“Mas maraming nanonood sa iyo, Raffy at Erwin Tulfo. Eh problema, nabuko kayo na may tinatago kayo. Kung hindi lang sa sarili, para pati din sa Malacañang,” he said.
The senator framed the attacks against him as coordinated, accusing the Tulfos and Sen. Panfilo Lacson of rotating the task of putting out misleading claims about him.
The broadcast followed Lacson’s assertion that at least P700 million in public funds was squandered over the 28 days Cayetano presided over the chamber. Rather than dispute the figure, Cayetano deflected it, suggesting the cost would have been the same regardless of who held the gavel.
“Whoever was SP noon, ganun din ang gastos,” he said.
He was absent from Wednesday’s special session.
