Sen. Pia Cayetano on Wednesday denied claims that her vehicle was used to help Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa enter the Senate premises, contradicting a statement made by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Monday, May 11.

Speaking during the Senate session on May 13, Cayetano strongly rejected Lacson’s public statement, saying she had no involvement in facilitating Dela Rosa’s entry into the Senate.

“Today, a public statement was made by our colleague Sen. Ping Lacson, which was also posted [on] his YouTube page, suggesting that my vehicle was used to assist Senator Bato dela Rosa in entering the Senate premises,” Cayetano said during her manifestation.

She quoted Lacson’s earlier statement, saying, “Ang pagkakaalam ko, at least silang dalawa lang mag-ate, Cayetanos, ang nakakaalam tungkol kay Bato na darating. Dahil ang pagkakaalam ko, nakasakay si Bato sa kotse ni Sen. Pia.”

Cayetano clarified that while she had no issue with Dela Rosa’s presence in the Senate, the public statement created the impression that she directly assisted him.

“Again, okay lang po sa akin na nakarating siya dito. Wala akong problema doon,” she said.

“Let me state this clearly and unequivocally. That statement is false. Senator De La Rosa did not ride in my vehicle, nor did I have anything to do with facilitating his presence in the Senate last Monday,” the older Cayetano said.

She added that she was also surprised upon learning that Dela Rosa had arrived at the Senate.

“Hindi ko nga alam na darating siya,” Cayetano said.

According to the senator, she only learned about Dela Rosa’s presence after her brother, her, brother newly elected Senate President Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, addressed the chamber and mentioned that Dela Rosa was present.

“Nagulat din ako. Katabi ko si Sen. Loren Legarda, ako, nagulat ako, wala akong idea. Hindi ko alam kung nasan siya,” she added.

Meanwhile, Lacson later apologized to Cayetano for the information he disclosed regarding Dela Rosa’s alleged entry into the Senate using her vehicle.

“I sincerely apologize to our distinguished colleague Sen. Pia Cayetano. That information was relayed to me by a reliable source. If that was a mistake, then I sincerely apologize,” Lacson said.

Despite the apology, Lacson maintained that the information came from what he described as a reliable source.

Alan later clarified that it was his vehicle, not Pia's, that Dela Rosa rode in when entering the Senate on Monday.