Tulfo counters Cayetano claim: Minority senators checked on colleagues after shooting

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Erwin Tulfo on Thursday, May 21, pushed back against Sen. Pia Cayetano’s claim that no one from the minority bloc checked on members of the majority following the May 13 shooting incident inside the Senate complex.

The clarification comes amid continuing fallout from a tense Senate session on Wednesday, when Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ call for the chamber to confront the aftermath of the gunfire incident triggered an emotional exchange on the floor.

Tulfo said senators from both blocs communicate in a WhatsApp group, where messages of concern were exchanged in the immediate aftermath of the shooting incident.

“We have a WhatsApp group chat that includes all members of both the majority and minority blocs. Messages were sent there by Sen. Kiko, Sen. Bam, Sen. Sherwin and me,” Tulfo said in Filipino in an interview with GMA's Unang Balita.

According to Tulfo, he sent his own message at around 9:57 p.m. on the night of the incident, simply writing: “Praying for all of you.”

He said Sen. Camille Villar later replied in the group chat, saying: “Thank you, we’re all okay.”

Tulfo expressed confusion over Cayetano’s statement, saying that he was unsure why she felt no one from the minority bloc had reached out.

Cayetano earlier said she felt hurt that some colleagues did not personally check on her after the incident, which took place inside the Senate complex on May 13.

During Wednesday’s Senate session, she became emotional as she responded to Hontiveros’ remarks, particularly the phrase “parang walang nangyari” (as if nothing happened), which Cayetano said did not reflect the lived experience of senators who were inside the chamber during the lockdown.

“Some of you I’ve known for 20 years, 10 years and I didn’t even hear any of you say, ‘Kumusta na kayo dyan?’ Napakasakit nu’n sa akin, sobrang sakit,” Cayetano said.

(Some of you I’ve known for 20 years, 10 years, and I didn’t even hear any of you say, ‘How are you all there?’ That was very painful for me, extremely painful.)

The exchange followed Hontiveros’ privilege speech urging the Senate to confront what happened inside its halls and not treat the incident as a closed matter to be addressed only by outside investigators, saying the institution could not move forward as if “parang walang nangyari.”

Hontiveros later clarified that her remark referred to the Senate’s institutional response in the days after the incident, not the personal experiences of those who were present during the shooting and lockdown.

"When I stated, 'It feels now as though parang walang nangyari (It feels now as if nothing happened), I was not speaking about our personal feelings. I was speaking about our institutional posture," Hontiveros said.

"Our grief as senators are valid, but our mandate requires action," she added.

Tulfo also earlier delivered a privilege speech calling for transparency and describing the atmosphere inside the chamber during the incident as marked by confusion and disorder.

As of Thursday, Senate leadership has yet to issue a consolidated account of communications among senators in the immediate aftermath of the May 13 incident. — with a report from Cristina Chi