Pia Cayetano gets emotional over Risa Hontiveros' remarks on Senate shooting incident

Sen. Pia Cayetano became emotional as she recalled the May 13 Senate shooting, following Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ remarks that it felt like the institution "acts as if nothing had happened” after the incident.

On May 20, Cayetano burst into tears as she slammed Hontiveros' "parang walang nangyari remark," recalling how scared she was during the incident.

"'Parang walang nangyari,’ siguro para sa inyo na wala dito, pero para sa amin na nandito, napakaraming nangyari," she began.

"Takot na takot po ako na kailangan ko nang magpaalam sa mga anak ko…kaya para sabihin niyo na walang nangyari, napakasakit para sa aming nandito,” Cayetano added.

She later claimed that no one in the minority group checked in on the senators in the complex after the incident.

"Pagkatapos ng lahat, pagtingin ko [sa] dating majority group, walang ni isa sa inyo ang nangumusta sa amin…napakasakit nu’n sa amin,” she tearfully said. Sen. Loren Legarda was also seen emotional as she comforted Cayetano.

"Kung wala kayo rito, ‘wag niyong kwestyunin ‘yung mga nangyari," she added.

What Hontiveros said

Before this, Hontiveros lamented how the recent gunfire incident was an act of disrespect toward the institution and caused fear among the Filipino people.

"Halos isang linggo na matapos ang habulan at barilan dito sa Senado. Sa loob-loob ko, ‘di ako mapanatag na simula noong Lunes, ang ipinapakita natin ay para bang walang nangyari. Na para bang hindi nabastos ang ating institusyon, ang ating mga empleyado, at mga Pilipino," she said.

Hontiveros went on to say that what happened was not a trivial matter, and that the reconstruction of events should not be left to Facebook Live, press conferences, or media interviews.

She lamented that even during dark days—like the coup d’état and Martial Law—no one fired a gun in the halls of the upper chamber.

"Whether we stand in the minority or the majority, the Senate, as an institution, has sustained a profound injury to its dignity, credibility, and moral authority before the Filipino people," she stressed.

"This needs to be said: Kapag may nagpaputok ng baril, right here in the people’s house, kapag naghasik ka ng takot sa mga empleyado, sa media, sa security personnel, at sa mga sibilyan; kapag may na-trauma dahil sa karahasan…lampas na ito sa isyu ng pamumulitika, pambabastos na ‘yan ang pang-aabuso sa lahat-lahat ng ipinagkatiwala sa Senado bilang lingkod-bayan,” she said.

In response to Cayetano's outburst, Hontiveros clarified that her “parang walang nangyari” remark referred to the Senate’s institutional response following the incident.

“I empathize with the experiences and feelings expressed by (Sen. Pia Cayetano). I’m talking about ngayon, after those terrible events that cause fear and a lot of other negative emotions and experiences. ‘Yun po yung punto ko,” Hontiveros said.

“For the record, I deeply respect the emotions of our distinguished colleague. I was not speaking about our personal feelings. I was speaking about our institutional posture. Our grief as senators is valid, but our mandate requires action.”