Alan, Migz in shouting match

MANILA, Philippines —  Tensions ran high at the Senate late Tuesday night after Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Alan Peter Cayetano traded barbs over a resolution seeking the inclusion of enlisted men’s barrios or Embo barangays in the Taguig and Pateros legislative districts to prevent disenfranchising registered voters in the 2025 elections.

During the night session presided over by Senate President Francis Escudero, Cayetano put forth Senate Concurrent Resolution 23, which includes the 10 Embo barangays in the two legislative districts of Taguig and Pateros.

The resolution was born out of the Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that favored Taguig City in its decades-long dispute with Makati City over the barangays.

Cayetano said the resolution would also confirm the increase to 12 of the number of councilors in each councilor district of Taguig for purposes of fair and equitable representation.

Zubiri, however, manifested that he did not know about the resolution, which he said seemed to have just come about. He requested Escudero to give the senators more time to study the resolution.

“We don’t want to be like other establishments that in the midnight hour, we’re passing measures. No, we’re not like that,” Zubiri quipped.

“We have another session tomorrow. I don’t want to disenfranchise the people of Taguig,” he added.

He also noted that tradition should be followed in passing a concurrent resolution, but Escudero clarified that a concurrent resolution is no different from an ordinary resolution.

“We did give due courtesy to Sen. Nancy Binay even if this involves barangays that are no longer part of Makati but because the chair viewed it used to be part of Makati, we cleared it with her through her chief of staff. Hence, we proceeded,” Escudero said.

Cayetano thanked Escudero for the clarification as he further explained his point about the resolution.

“It’s not an emotional or local issue. It’s an issue of constitutional importance and the ability of the people to vote,” Cayetano said.

As the exchange heated up, the session was suspended and the live feed on YouTube was cut off. Zubiri and Cayetano had a shouting match captured by a mobile phone camera and later