Committeee Chair Leila De Lima pacifies Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Antonio Trillanes during the Senate probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings at the Senate in Pasay City.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s much-talked about “hindi kita papopormahin” remark against Senator Alan Cayetano has now become a running joke among their fellow senators.
“I think papopormahin ko ‘yung resource persons, kayo lang ang papatayan ko ng mic,” Senator Grace Poe said in jest on Monday during the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, which she chairs.
Poe was directing her comment to Senators Joel Villanueva and Sonny Angara, who attended the hearing on the proposed Freedom of Information Act as among its authors.
Before this, Villanueva also expressed fear in jest that his microphone might be turned off while he was speaking.
“Madam chair, may I use the other microphone so I won’t be sharing the same microphone with this gentleman; baka ho patayin ‘yung microphone mamaya (the mic might be turned off later on),” he said, before he gave the opening statement on the measure.
Trillanes’ remark, “hindi kita papopormahin,” became talk of the town after he uttered those words to Cayetano during last week’s hearing of the Senate committee on justice.
At one point, Trillanes also turned Cayetano’s mic off to stop his lengthy questioning on witness and confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, who has accused President Rodrigo Duterte of being behind the killings of criminals and enemies in Davao City when the latter was still the city mayor.
Trillanes, in a letter to Ceyetano this Monday, apologized for his “uncalled for” demeanor and promised not to do it again.
READ: Trillanes apologizes to Cayetano for ‘uncalled for’ demeanor
Speaking to reporters later, Trillanes said he apologized so they could move on and focus on important matters.
“The apology was voluntary. I will leave it at that,” he said. “I did my part. I was man enough to admit my shortcoming.” JE/rga