Stuff of Senate drama: Tears, chats, memes

MANILA, Philippines — A week after a chaotic shooting incident shattered the peace in the Senate, the chamber has transformed into a stage for raw emotional outbursts, group chat receipts, and a relentless wave of internet memes.

What began as a security issue on May 13 evolved into a multisided political drama involving tears on the Senate floor, a dispute over WhatsApp messaging etiquette, and sharp rebukes from across the aisle.

The latest firestorm erupted during a plenary debate on Wednesday when Sen. Risa Hontiveros delivered a manifestation lamenting how the chamber had apparently become complacent, acting as if nothing happened after more than 30 gunshots rang out that night.

The remark offended Sen. Pia Cayetano, sister of the newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, and named new chair of the powerful blue ribbon committee. She took the podium and recalled her terror while holed up in a room with other senators who now form the majority bloc.

READ: Erwin Tulfo: Minority senators checked on majority after Senate shooting

“I was too scared that I had to bid goodbye to my children,” the older Cayetano said, visibly shaking and breaking into tears. “To say that nothing happened is too painful for all of us who were here.”

Viber, WhatsApp

Turning her frustration toward her former allies in the minority, Cayetano sobbed even louder, saying, “When I checked the Viber group of the previous majority, not even one of you asked how we were. Some of you I have known for 20 years … I didn’t even hear you say, ‘How are you there?’ It’s painful for me, very painful.”

But the narrative of the neglected majority proved short-lived. On Thursday, Sen. Erwin Tulfo came out with a digital receipt to dispute Cayetano’s emotional recollection, which was apparently based on the wrong group chat.

READ: Senate shake-up deepens amid fresh coup rumors

“We did (check on them). We have a group chat, and it’s there … on WhatsApp,” Tulfo told Senate reporters when asked about Cayetano’s outburst. He said he and other senators from the minority bloc—Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Bam Aquino, and Sherwin Gatchalian—checked on their colleagues in the majority as soon as the news about the incident went viral.

Tulfo said Sen. Camille Villar started the conversation with a message, “We’re all okay,” at 9:50 p.m. From 9:55 p.m. to 9:57 p.m., the other minority senators sent “Keep safe,” and he followed with “Praying for all of you.”

“Maybe Senator Pia just didn’t see it, or because of the commotion or fear … perhaps no one was able to tell her, ‘Hey, Sen. Pia, there were messages, the minority bloc sent texts.’ Maybe they simply forgot,” Tulfo told reporters, suggesting that trauma may have clouded her memory.

How could you?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson didn’t mince words in countering Cayetano’s remarks. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the former chair of the blue ribbon committee said: “Quote of the day: ‘No one checked on us!’”

But he went on: “How could you check on people who seemed happily eating, drinking coffee, and even going on FB Live, while accusing the minority bloc of supposedly knowing something about the gunfire at the Senate?”

“How can anyone check on the members of the majority bloc when they — or some of them — were busy trying to link the minority bloc to a shooting incident inside the Senate building last May 13?” he added.

Lacson’s biting remark referenced the backlash the majority bloc faced online after photos and livestreams surfaced showing them eating and smiling inside a locked room while the Senate staff, journalists, and security were trapped outside in panic.

Earlier, Lacson said it was “unfair and malicious” for some in the majority, including the Senate President and Sen. Imee Marcos, to insinuate that the minority bloc left the premises early on the day of the shooting because they knew something would happen.

“That is quite far from the truth. There is no basis for that because no one knew what would happen that night,” he said.

Viral comedy

As the finger-pointing played out on TV and social media, netizens did what they do best: turn the political friction into viral comedy.

Pia Cayetano expectedly became the main character, with netizens creating graphics poking fun at her outburst on the floor. Photos of Cayetano later being consoled by Senators Loren Legarda and Villar drew comparisons with those of movie actresses Angel Aquino, Sharon Cuneta, and Hilda Koronel in a scene from the 2003 comedy-drama flick “Crying Ladies.”

Hontiveros later clarified that her “walang nangyari (nothing happened)” comment was directed at the new Senate leadership and its response to the incident—and not about personal feelings. —Reports from Tina G. Santos and Isabelle Pechay /atm