By Liza Soriano
MANILA — Senator Robin Padilla said Thursday (04 July 2024) that he does not condone the nasty incident that occurred between Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Nancy Binay during a hearing on the budget of the new Senate building in Taguig City and that, the focus should always be on the issues, not personal.
It can be recalled that during the hearing on the New Senate Building (NSB), a heated argument ensued between the two lawmakers where Cayetano referred to Binay as a “Marites” and “buang.”
In local parlance “Marites” is often referred to as rumor monger while “buang” simply means crazy, mad, or insane.
For Padilla, he does not see anything “unparliamentary” specifically in what Cayetano said and the two only ended up getting personal.
“Stick lang tayo doon sa isyu kasi nanood din ako kahapon napunta na sa Taguig [at] Makati. Iwasan natin, dun lang tayo sa isyu,” Padilla said.
Moreover, he said that he is still ‘happy’ with that kind of discussion because it shows that there is a “check and balance” in the upper house.
“Masaya ako kahapon, kaya lang syempre nung napupunta na sa medyo personalan, dun na ako humihingi ng suspension. Pero ‘yung unang ano maganda ‘yun, check and balance,” he said.
Padilla believes that the conversation between Cayetano and Binay will not affect the image of the Senate and if it is possible, he said that this is how the plenary debate will be, at times.
(el Amigo/mnm)
