MANILA, Philippines — It was during a meeting in Malacañang in September when House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez informed President Rodrigo Duterte that he and Senator Panfilo Lacson were vaccinated against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Monday recalled Romualdez telling Duterte about the vaccination when they met at the Palace on September 16 to discuss, among others, the alleged corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
At one point, Sotto said Romualdez mentioned getting the vaccine against the virus.
“Kasi si Romualdez ang nagkwekwento kay Presidente. Nandodoon ako. Then President Duterte asked me, ako ‘yung nasa kanan n’ya eh, sabi n’ya sakin o ano, halika tayong dalawa testing na tayo…” the Senate leader said in an online interview with reporters.
(It was Romualdez who told the President. I was there. Then the President asked me, I was on his right, he asked me: Let’s also try it.)
“Sabi ko teka muna sir, hintayin muna natin silang dalawa at saka ‘yung ibang nagpa-testing. Tingnan muna natin ang resulta baka one of these days, baka bigla na lang sabihin sa akin ni Ping, who you? Binibiro ko s’ya ng ganun.”
(I told him to wait first the results of the two and the others who tried the vaccine. Let’s wait for the results first because what if one of these days, Ping would suddenly ask me: Who you?)
Sotto said he doubts if Romualdez was just joking.
“Si Presidente kausap n’ya eh. Ewan ko, sila ang tanungin n’yo kasi si Presidente ang kausap nya…” he said.
(He was talking to the President. I don’t know, you ask them because he was talking to the President)
“I doubt if he (Romualdez) was joking. Si Presidente ang kausap n’ya, hindi naman kami nagbibiro kay Presidente unless sinimulan ni Presidente ang pagbibiro eh. Dun lang naman kami pwedeng makipagbiro,” Sotto further said.
Also present in that meeting, he said, were Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Lacson had already hinted that talks of him and Romualdez getting the vaccine were just a joke.
“’Pag tinanggi ko, lalabas na sinungaling si SP (Senate President). Pero alam mo kaming mga senador ‘pag nasa lounge kami lalo na kung stressed out kami, lalo mahigit isang linggo kami sa budget, wala kaming ginawa kundi magbiruan nang [mag]biruan,” he said in an interview with dzBB over the weekend.
(If I will deny it, the SP will appear to be lying. But you know, us senators, especially when we are stressed out and now that we have been discussing the budget for one week, we also tell jokes.)
Lacson hints that his COVID-19 ‘vaccination’ was just a joke