INTERIOR Secretary Jonvic Remulla firmly claimed that he was forcibly pushed by Senator Robinhood Padilla while attempting to stop 18 former Marines from entering the Senate plenary hall to attend a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged flood control anomaly.
Remulla explained that the incident occurred as he was leaving the building while Senator Padilla and Senator Pia Cayetano, accompanied by members of the group of 18 former Marines, were entering the plenary area.
“I was walking out when I was pushed aside,” Remulla said.
According to the Interior Secretary, he was at the Senate upon the request of Senate President Pro Tempore and Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian to help ensure order and security within the Senate premises.
However, tensions reportedly escalated at the entrance of the Plenary Hall when Padilla and his group arrived, leading to the confrontation.
When asked whether he intended to block Padilla and the former Marines from entering, Remulla strongly denied the allegation.
“How could I do that? I was alone,” he said.
The 18 former Marines were at the Senate as resource persons for the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Prior to the commotion, Padilla and Cayetano personally met and escorted the former Marines from the Senate lobby after reports that certain individuals, allegedly acting on orders from the opposing camp, were preventing them from entering the building.
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