Zubiri: Near-brawl with Alan Cayetano at Senate due to lack of caucus

Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri blamed the lack of consultation under the new Senate leadership on the near-brawl between him and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano at the chamber's session hall on Tuesday night.

He made the statement even though the argument, which he described as a "miscommunication that led to a misunderstanding," was already settled.

"Sinabi ko, sana 'di tayo mag-aaway kung nag-caucus tayo... Well, we haven't had a caucus with the new Senate president," Zubiri said.

Zubiri was the Senate president before being replaced by the current leader, Francis "Chiz" Escudero, in May.

(I said, I think we wouldn't have this fight if we had discussed this matter in a caucus... Well, we haven't had a caucus with the new Senate president.)

"Medyo we're in limbo, we're in the dark when it comes to things like this kaya I guess nag-flare up na kahapon kasi di nagkaroon ng consultation," he added.  

(We're kind of in limbo, we're in the dark when it comes to things like this. So, I guess it flared up yesterday because there was no consultation.)

On Tuesday night, Zubiri and Cayetano engaged in a heated argument over the adoption of a concurrent resolution seeking to include the 10 Enlisted Men's Barrios (EMBO) barangays in the two legislative districts of Taguig City and the Municipality of Pateros and confirming the increase of the number of councilors in each district of Taguig.

Zubiri questioned the tackling of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 23 which was authored by Cayetano, saying this was not part of the Senate's agenda for the plenary session on Tuesday.

Cayetano, for his part, emphasized the urgency of adopting the resolution as this concerns how the residents of EMBO barangays will vote for their congressmen and councilors.

A video went viral where the two were seen shouting at each other and nearly engaging in a physical fight while the session was suspended.

The two lawmakers were restrained by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Roberto Ancan Jr., Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, and Cayetano's sister, Senator Pia Cayetano.

In an ambush interview, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero explained that resolutions are not usually tackled in a caucus.

"We don't take up resolutions in caucus. We usually conduct caucus whenever a major piece of legislation is about to be passed. And among them, the number one major piece of legislation would be the budget," he said.

(We don't discuss resolutions in caucus. Instead, we hold a caucus whenever a significant piece of legislation is about to be passed. And among these, the most important piece of legislation is the budget.)

"So kung maaalala ko kahit noon naman, nag-caucus kami sa dalawang bagay lang ha. Cha-cha at budget. Hindi pinag-uusapan sa isang caucus 'yung mga, ang tawag ko minsan, 'Miss Universe' na resolusyon na 'yan," he added.

(As I recall, even back then, we held caucuses on just two things. Cha-cha and the budget. We don't discuss in a caucus what I sometimes refer to as "Miss Universe" resolutions.)

Escudero likewise defended the resolution's not being included in the daily agenda of the plenary session.

"These resolutions can be adopted in any point in time...lahat ng resolutions namin wala rin sa agenda. Humigit-kumulang walo hanggang 12 resolusyon na inaaprubahan namin bago kami mag-adjourn na wala sa agenda, na nire-report out ng rules," he said.

(These resolutions can be adopted at any point in time...all of our resolutions were not on the agenda. We approximately approved eight to 12 resolutions before adjourning, which were not on the agenda, and reported out by the rules committee.)

Escudero also acknowledged the importance of the resolution as this concerns a complicated matter in the composition of districts following the Supreme Court's ruling on the EMBO barangays.

"You have to understand the basic principle under constitutional law [that] there shall be no taxation without representation. So, kung hindi mo sila papabotohin sa konsehal o sa mambabatas, paano 'yung mga ipapasang ordinansang nagpapasa ng buwis sa kanila? Paano ang mga batas na pinapasa ng Kongreso at Senado na patawan sila ng dagdag na buwis?" Escudero, a lawyer, said.

(You need to understand the fundamental principle in constitutional law that there can be no taxation without representation. So, if you don't give them a voice in the council or legislature, how can you justify passing ordinances that impose taxes on them, and how can laws passed by Congress and the Senate impose additional taxes on them?)

"Pwede ba sila pagbayarin kung wala naman silang boses sa pagpili ng kanilang kinatawan para ipaglaban sila?" he went on.

(Should they pay taxes if they don't have a voice in choosing their own representatives?)

He explained that the resolution seeks to ask the Commission on Elections to find ways for the residents of the EMBO barangays to vote for their councilors and congresspeople.

Commenting on the incident, Ejercito said his colleagues are sometimes passionate about their advocacies.

"That's how democracy is. We don't have the same opinion or points of view at times. Minsan may passionate, may emotional kung gano'n na importante sa'yo...We're only human" he said.

(That's just the way democracy is. We don't always see eye-to-eye or share the same perspectives. Sometimes we get passionate, emotional, and invested in things that are extremely important to us. After all, we're only human.)

Ejercito said that the tension was already intense when the two were trading barbs on the floor.

"Ako yung duty kagabi as majority leader...parang referee... Medyo mainit na talaga. Kaya nakahanda na rin ako kung talagang mag-kaabutan sila. Nandun naman kami sa gitna na. Kaya pumasok na rin yung iba. Tumulong na rin," Ejercito said.

(The atmosphere was already quite tense. So, I was also prepared in case they really clashed. We were already in the middle, anyway. That's why some others also intervened and helped out.)

"At least, 'yung cooler heads prevailed. At after mahimasmasan naman, nag-usap naman, nagyakapan pa nga," he added.

(At least, cooler heads prevailed in the end. After all the commotion, they were able to talk it out and even hugged each other.)

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa also shared his thoughts on the incident, saying "it is not a good incident to occur in the plenary."

"Hindi maganda tingnan. But anyway, diyan nagpapakita na talagang seryoso yung dalawa sa kanilang trabaho na ginagampanan. Talagang intense yung kanilang desire na magampanan yung trabaho nila bilang senador kaya umabot sa punto na talagang nagsisigawan. Mabuti na lang hindi nagkakasakitan," he said.

(It doesn't look good. But anyway, it shows that the two of them are really serious about their job. They have an intense desire to fulfill their duties as senators, which led to a point where they almost came to blows. It's a good thing no one got hurt.) — BM, GMA Integrated News