Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson rebuked the attempt of disgraced ex-Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano to deflect accountability on the issue of P700 million in wasted taxpayers’ money during his 28-day “leadership.”
Cayetano’s Facebook Live claims
Cayetano, in yet another lengthy Facebook Live, had claimed among other things that the Senate’s daily operating expenses of P25 million would have been incurred regardless of who was serving as Senate President.
“Tama naman — ‘Whoever was SP noon, ganun din ang gastos…’ Pero, output ang pinag-uusapan: trabaho sa plenaryo, hindi boycott; magpasa ng batas, hindi mag livestream sa Facebook. At kung ayaw tumulong, huwag na lang manggulo. Kaya nga sayang ang pera, kasi zero output,” Lacson said on X Thursday evening, June 18, 2026.
(It is true that whoever served as SP would have incurred similar expenses. But the issue is output - working in plenary instead of boycotting sessions, passing laws instead of livestreaming on Facebook. And if you don’t want to help, at least don’t disrupt our work. Taxpayers’ money was wasted because there was zero output during Cayetano’s watch.)
Lowlights of Cayetano’s term
On Thursday morning, Lacson called out Cayetano for wasting at least P700 million when he led the chamber due to the lowlights that marred the Senate under his “leadership.”
Lacson said the lowlights of the period included the shooting inside the Senate two days after Cayetano became Senate president; the escape of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa while under the Senate’s “protective custody”; a boycott of sessions by the Cayetano-led bloc; a failed destabilization try; and bogus committee hearings.
The “delulu” era in the Senate ended June 3 when Francis Escudero joined the then 11-member minority to form a quorum and elect Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate president. Gatchalian was formally elected Senate president during the Senate’s special session last June 17.
As per estimate made by the erstwhile Finance committee chairman, now SP Gatchalian, under the 2026 GAA, the Senate spends approximately P25M/day - salaries, allowances, MOOE, etc. Multiply that by 28 days of inaction and inactivity, it’s P700M.
