𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠. 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘂

ON May 11, Senator Alan Peter “Companyero” Cayetano took his oath as Senate President when he got hold of 12 other senators to oust then President Tito Sotto. Cayetano, w​ho is much identified with Vice President Inday Sara Duterte, has lured in his side three senators belonging to the bloc of Sotto – Loren Legarda and the Villar siblings Mark and Camille.

In garnering the magic number 13 to take hold of the Senate’s highest position, he called on Senator Bato dela Rosa to attend the Senate session. Bato, before the call of Alan Peter was in hiding for more than six months due to an ICC Warrant of Arrest.

Even before Cayetano was elected as president, an incident occurred already when Bato was chased by NBI agents who were trying to serve the ICC warrant. Bato shouted invectives inside of the session hall, banged tables and cursed the administration of President BongBong to the full view of the national and international media.

In his own words, the visibly fearful and timid dela Rosa, said that he was called by Cayetano and asked him to attend the May 11 session and vote for the ouster of Sotto. He admitted that he rode a van that was provided by Alan Peter in entering the senate building.

On that very same day, now Senate President Cayetano announced that the Senate is taking custody of a now fugitive Bato dela Rosa and that no one can apprehend him as long as he is inside of the Senate building. So Bato stayed at the Senate under the protective custody of Alan Peter.

Come May 13, after the Supreme Court rejected the plea of Bato for a TRO, authorities said that there are no more legal hindrances in serving the warrant to Bato… but Alan Peter has other ideas. He allegedly ordered then Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Mao Aplasca to secure the Senate and not let any apprehending officers to serve anything against Bato.

So, on the night of May 13, another first had happened. Guns were fired towards virtually nothing. Thirty-seven shots came from the group of Aplasca and only five came from the NBI agents. Aplasca later said that those 37-shots were warning shots… warning shots were fired inside of the senate building aimed towards nothing.

On the dawn of May 14, Bato, accompanied by another DDS Senator in Robinhood Padilla, slipped out of the senate building. As what the wife of dela Rosa claimed –Bato “escaped” from the Senate. The NBI and the PNP both said that Alan Peter is to blame for his escape as Bato is his sole responsibility when he provided protective custody.

On June 1 when Senator Jinggoy’s warrant was served by DILG Secretary JonVic Remulla and the PNP, Cayetano again took the limelight. He refused to hand over Estrada to authorities prompting the PNP to read Jinggoy his Miranda rights at the aisle of the senate leading to the session hall.

Alan Peter, as weird as he can be, skipped session and ordered his then majority bloc to accompany Estrada to the Sandiganbayan and Camp Crame. Session was cancelled that day. On June 2 and 3, Cayetano and his bloc again refused to attend session calling their non-attendance as “Boycott” against the administration of PBBM.

Afternoon of June 3 also saw the jumping of Senator Chiz (I texted and congratulated him for leaving the Cayetano bloc) from the camp of Alan Peter to the group of Sotto. In doing so, the block of Sotto immediately pronounced a quorum and declared all chairmanships vacant and installed Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as the acting Senate President and the President Pro-Tempore’.

Of course, Alan Peter howled in protest and for several days, insisted that he is still the senate leader and that the Sherwin bloc grabbed power illegally. He and his fellow DDS Rodante Marcoleta even conducted a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on June 4 featuring the now infamous “Maleta Boys”.

From June 5 to June 16, Cayetano was like a crazy wolf that never halted barking. Facebook live here and there, press conferences all over, playing victim several times and a lot more that I personally consider as “immature”.