“Quote of the day: ‘Wala man lang nangumusta sa amin!’” Lacson says.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Thursday took a swipe at Senator Pia Cayetano over her claim that no one from the minority bloc had checked on majority senators inside the Senate following the May 13 shooting incident.

In a statement, Lacson responded to Cayetano’s emotional remarks delivered during Wednesday’s plenary session, where she said none of the minority senators reached out to inquire about the condition of those inside the Senate during the gunfire incident.

“Quote of the day: ‘Wala man lang nangumusta sa amin!’” Lacson wrote on X.

“Paano mo ba naman kukumustahin ang mga masasayang nagkakainan, nagkakape at naka FB live pa para pagbintangan ang minority bloc na may alam daw sa putukan ng baril sa Senado?” he added.

Cayetano broke down in tears during the Senate session on May 20 as she responded to criticism from Senator Risa Hontiveros regarding the chamber’s apparent return to normal operations following the shooting.

According to Cayetano, she was hurt that none of the minority senators checked on the welfare of lawmakers who remained inside the Senate complex during the incident.

“Walang ni isa sa inyong nangamusta sa amin. Some of you I've known for 20 years, 10 years, and I didn't even hear any of you saying, ‘Kumusta na kayo diyan?’ Napakasakit para sa akin. Sobrang sakit,” she said during the session.

The majority senators had remained in the Senate for a caucus when the shooting incident occurred.

Earlier, Lacson also weighed in on the exchange between Hontiveros and Cayetano.

Lacson said the two senators were speaking from “different timelines and contexts” when they used the phrase, “parang walang nangyari”.

According to him, Hontiveros was urging Senate leaders to move swiftly in investigating the circumstances surrounding the May 13 shooting incident.

“Sen. Risa challenged the Senate leadership to act quickly and appropriately to investigate the chaotic situation in the Senate that led to last week’s shooting incident and not act as if — ‘parang walang nangyari,’” Lacson said.

He added that Cayetano, meanwhile, took offense to the remark and became emotional, accusing members of the newly formed minority bloc of downplaying the incident.

“Sen. Pia took offense and turned emotional, calling out the members of the new minority bloc for trivializing the incident as if — ‘parang walang nangyari,’” he said.

Lacson ended his post with a rhetorical question: “Who is fair and who is unfair?”

Meanwhile, Senator Erwin Tulfo disputed Cayetano’s claim, saying members of the minority bloc had in fact reached out to senators through a WhatsApp group chat following the incident.

Tulfo said he possessed records of the conversation showing that several senators sent messages to check on their colleagues’ condition.

Among those who reportedly expressed concern were Senators Francis Pangilinan, Benigno Aquino IV, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Tulfo himself.

“Nagpadala po ng message si Sen. Kiko, Sen. Bam, Sen. Sherwin, pati ako po. Nag-message naman po kami sa WhatsApp group po namin. Ewan ko po kung bakit hindi po nabasa ni Sen. Pia po iyon,” Tulfo said.

Tulfo also rejected allegations that minority senators left the Senate premises early because they had prior knowledge that a shooting would occur, insisting that no such information had been relayed to them before the incident.