Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday called the Gatchalian bloc’s Blue Ribbon Committee meeting, led by newly installed committee chair Senator Erwin Tulfo, the “biggest cover-up committee hearing“ of the generation, amid rising tensions within the Senate.

“As a nation, we have to decide whether the Senate will be under the thumb of Malacañang. And now that it is very clear to us that the biggest ever corruption scandal is the flood control scandal, if it's acceptable to us that we witnessed this morning the biggest cover-up committee hearing of our generation,” Cayetano said during a press conference hours after the committee hearing.

He also claimed that there are currently “two Senates” operating in the country.

“Apparently, because ayaw nila pumayag. Dalawa ang Senado natin ngayon. You have the Senate of the Philippines and you have the Senate of Malacañang,” he said.

He further alleged that one of the committees appears to function as a “Committee de Absuelto,” which he described as focusing on clearing high-ranking officials of accountability, while another is pursuing what he called the search for truth.

“So yung Senate of Malacanang had a hearing kanina and you have two Blue Ribbon Committee,” he noted.

“Yung isa ay Committee de Absuelto na ang kanyang main work is paano i-absuelto yung mga high officials ng ating bansa at yung isa naman na seeking the truth,” he said.

Cayetano also defended his position regarding witness accounts related to the flood control investigation, saying allegations should be examined alongside other possible evidence.

“So am I saying lahat ng sabihin ng 18 ex-marines ay completely true? No. What I'm saying is nga, give them a chance. I heard they have other evidence, including videos. I heard that if they come out and there's a full support na nararamdaman, may iba pang mga witnesses na may mga dokumento, may mga ebidensya na lalabas din,” he said.

The senator also addressed issues surrounding Senate administrative authority, saying he is not giving up signing powers after what he claimed was a lack of agreement from Senator Sherwin Gatchalian regarding an interim administrative arrangement.

Cayetano also said there is a clear “usurpation of authority” by Gatchalian, saying that he is not the Acting Senate President.

According to Cayetano, this is the reason divisions are emerging in the Senate, as the opposing camp is reportedly unwilling to agree.

“As far as I'm concerned, nag-u-usurp ng authority si Senator Win because he's not really the Acting President,” he said.