Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Tuesday debunked the claim that the Senate President Pro Tempore’s office that he vacated in 2022, and which was subsequently occupied by Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada was “bare,” saying he left the office intact when he vacated it.
Lacson said he left the office intact when he vacated it because its refurbishment had been undertaken using government funds.
In Filipino: Lacson: Hindi Nilimas ang Pro Tempore Office Nang Iniwan Ko Ito Noong 2022
“I take exception to the statement pertaining to the state or condition of the same Pro Tempore office that I turned over to Sen. Estrada in 2022. Nothing was removed nor destroyed, precisely because government funds were used when I refurbished it when it was turned over to me,” he said on X.
He was responding to a statement from Estrada’s office that the Pro Tempore’s office was “bare” when it was turned over to him in 2022, purportedly in keeping with what it described as a long-standing Senate practice.
Lacson’s statement came a day after he posted on X an AI-generated image depicting incumbent Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III sitting in an otherwise bare office with only a monobloc table and chair and a “lampara” or kerosene lamp.
“Poor Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto. Naka monobloc table and chair at lampara na lang. Mistulang ‘barebones’ ang bago niyang opisina. Binaklas kasi lahat ng dating occupant – from the floor tiles, walls and cabinets to the toilet fixtures and wall outlets – inubos,” he said.
(Poor Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto. He is left with only a monobloc table and chair and a kerosene lamp. His new office is ‘barebones’ because the former occupant stripped it of everything – from the floor tiles, walls and cabinets to the toilet fixtures and wall outlets. It was all taken away.)
Sotto was set to move into the office of the Senate President Pro Tempore, which was occupied by Estrada, this week. But he found Monday that the office was stripped bare.
Estrada served as Senate President Pro Tempore during the Senate presidency of Francis Escudero from May 2024 to September 2025.
When Escudero was replaced as Senate president and Lacson was elected Senate President Pro Tempore, Lacson did not occupy Estrada’s office.
Estrada is currently detained in Payatas, Quezon City over plunder charges in connection with the flood control mess.
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Lacson: Hindi Nilimas ang Pro Tempore Office Nang Iniwan Ko Ito Noong 2022
Pinabulaanan ni Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Martes ang pahayag na “bare” o walang laman ang tanggapan ng Senate President Pro Tempore na kanyang iniwan noong 2022 at kalauna’y inokupahan ni Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, at sinabing iniwan niyang buo ang tanggapan nang siya ay umalis dito.
Sinabi ni Lacson na iniwan niyang buo ang tanggapan dahil ginamitan ito ng pondo ng gobyerno para sa pag-ayos bago niya ito gamitin.
“I take exception to the statement pertaining to the state or condition of the same Pro Tempore office that I turned over to Sen. Estrada in 2022. Nothing was removed nor destroyed, precisely because government funds were used when I refurbished it when it was turned over to me,” aniya sa X.
Tinutukoy niya ang pahayag ng tanggapan ni Estrada na “bare” o walang laman ang Pro Tempore office nang ipasa ito sa senador noong 2022, na umano’y alinsunod sa matagal nang gawain sa Senado.
Ang pahayag ni Lacson ay kasunod ng kanyang post sa X isang araw bago nito, kung saan nag-post siya ng AI-generated na larawan ni kasalukuyang Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III na nakaupo sa halos walang laman na tanggapan, na may monobloc na mesa at upuan at isang “lampara” o gasera lamang.
“Poor Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto. Naka monobloc table and chair at lampara na lang. Mistulang ‘barebones’ ang bago niyang opisina. Binaklas kasi lahat ng dating occupant—from the floor tiles, walls and cabinets to the toilet fixtures and wall outlets—inubos,” aniya.
Nakatakdang lumipat si Sotto ngayong linggo sa tanggapan ng Senate President Pro Tempore na dating ginagamit ni Estrada, ngunit noong Lunes ay natuklasan niyang halos walang laman na ito matapos baklasin ang mga fixture at iba pang bahagi ng tanggapan.
Naging Senate President Pro Tempore si Estrada sa panahon ng pamumuno ni Francis Escudero bilang Senate President, mula Mayo 2024 hanggang Setyembre 2025.
Matapos mapalitan si Escudero bilang Senate President at mahalal si Lacson bilang Senate President Pro Tempore, hindi niya inookupa ang dating tanggapan ni Estrada.
Kasalukuyang nakakulong si Estrada sa Payatas, Quezon City, kaugnay ng mga kasong plunder na isinampa sa kanya bunsod ng kontrobersiya sa flood control.
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