MANILA — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson criticized Sen. Rodante Marcoleta over his actions during the Commission on Appointments (CA) hearing on the confirmation of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and foreign service officers, accusing him of being motivated by ego.

In an interview on DZBB radio, Lacson recounted that Marcoleta had objected to his manifestation urging the CA to immediately confirm the promotions of AFP and foreign service officers affected by delays stemming from the Senate leadership dispute.

According to Lacson, Marcoleta later indicated he would withdraw his objection if Lacson also withdrew his manifestation.

“Gusto niya, hindi raw siya mag-object, basta i-withdraw ko rin ang manifestation (ko). Ano siya, hilo? Ang gusto niya, ego yan eh. Para naman pakita niya na in-admit ko mali ang aking manifestation. Pinag-withdraw niya ako. Sabi ko, ano siya hilo? Di ko gagawin yan, ego lang yan. Hindi ako mag-play sa ego niya (He said he would not object so long as I withdraw my manifestation. Is he nuts? What he wants is to feed his ego, to make me admit that my manifestation was wrong. So is he nuts? I refused to accommodate him all for his ego. I’m not playing to his ego),” he said.

“Kilala naman natin siya. Basta maipilit ang kanya, yan ang tama. Ayaw niya makinig ng explanation, ayaw niya makinig ng reason (We know him. He wants to insist that he is right, and he does not want to hear any explanation or listen to reason),” he added.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Lacson appealed for the CA to promptly act on the appointments and promotions of military and foreign service officers, saying the delays were not attributable to them.

Marcoleta, however, argued that the affected AFP officers were considered bypassed because they did not meet the requirement related to the one-year period before retirement.

Lacson maintained that the CA’s special session was merely a continuation of the first regular session and should not be treated as a new regular session, contrary to Marcoleta’s position.

He also recalled that Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri had spoken with Marcoleta in an effort to persuade him to withdraw his objection. According to Lacson, Marcoleta reiterated that he would do so only if Lacson withdrew his manifestation.

Lacson said he was initially concerned that Marcoleta might invoke Section 20 of the CA rules, which allows a member to suspend the consideration or confirmation of a nominee or appointee. However, he said a review of the rules showed the provision could not be applied on the final day of the session.

“Sabi ko, e go na tayo, tuloy na natin ito. Siguro napagtanton niya rin na hindi uubra ang Section 20, hindi na rin siya nag-object, nag-manifest siya pa nga na support (So I said let’s push through with the proceedings. Perhaps Marcoleta realized he cannot invoke Section 20, so he no longer objected and even manifested his support),” he said.

“Pero bakit mong guluhin? E, minamadali na nga, ala-una pasado na, hindi pa kami lunch. Kasi nakita ko nag lunch na siya sa lounge eh, busog na siya (But why did he have to disrupt the proceedings? We were trying to fast-track it especially since it was past 1 p.m. and we haven’t had lunch – but I saw him having eaten his lunch at the lounge already so he was full),” he added.