Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson criticized Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano for skipping plenary sessions while addressing issues through a series of Facebook livestreams, calling the situation a “mess” within the chamber.

“Where else can we find a Senate President who boycotts the regular sessions of a chamber which he is supposed to preside, then delivers speeches on Facebook instead of the Senate floor before his peers so we can interpellate him?” Lacson said in an online statement posted Wednesday morning.

Lacson’s remarks came a day after the Senate majority bloc skipped the plenary session for the second time on Tuesday, June 2, escalating tensions between majority and minority lawmakers.

Cayetano, in a Facebook Live broadcast on Tuesday, defended the majority’s absence, saying it was a response to what he described as a parliamentary tactic by the minority bloc to block proposed changes to Senate rules.

He alleged that minority senators were attempting to overturn the chamber’s leadership structure, including moves that could affect the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, in a bid to prevent its scheduled hearing on Thursday.

The standoff highlights deepening divisions in the Senate, with both sides accusing each other of undermining institutional processes as disputes over leadership and rules continue.