MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson denounced what he described as a “malicious and sadistic” narrative linking Sen. Loren Legarda to an alleged attempt to change the leadership of the Senate.

Lacson said claims circulating online dragged Legarda into a supposed Senate power play after efforts to entice her with the Senate presidency allegedly failed.

“After dangling the Senate presidency to her, they are now floating the falsehood that it was Sen. Loren who volunteered to recruit warm bodies to pave the way for a new Senate majority. It is not only malicious. It is sadistic,” Lacson said in a post on X.

On Monday, Lacson also described as a “continuing crime” since time immemorial the social media posts over the weekend that hinted at a leadership change in the Senate.

The posts claimed that a shake-up in the Senate leadership was imminent, allegedly due to “dissatisfaction” with the current leadership under Senate President Vicente Sotto III.