Senators gathered on the Senate floor following the verbal spat between Sotto and Dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa criticized Sotto's statement in an interview in which he had said, "let them die of bitterness," which Dela Rosa claimed was aimed at the Senate's minority bloc.
This was in response to the minority bloc's criticism over Sotto's decision to transfer Hernandez to the custody of the Philippine National Police in Quezon City.
"I'm saddened by two points, Mr. President. Firstly, 'Let them die of bitterness.' We, Mr. President, you can't kill us with bitterness because we have accepted that we are the minority," said Dela Rosa.
"Second point, 'It's just a gimmick of the minority.' The Senate, this isn't a noontime TV show where we're just looking at gimmicks. We raise legitimate issues which require legitimate attention," added Dela Rosa, seemingly poking fun at Sotto's role as a host of the noontime TV show, Eat Bulaga.
Meanwhile, Sotto clarified that he was referring to "trolls" when he said, "let them die of bitterness."
Furthermore, Sotto claimed that Dela Rosa's criticism was "unparliamentary."
"I'm not supposed to do this. I'm not supposed to answer you in the rostrum, but I cannot help but do that because you took the floor, and it seems like you're criticizing the Senate president, which is very unparliamentary," Sotto sharply retorted.
Regarding the transfer of Hernandez to the PNP Custodial Center, Sotto said that the House of Representatives had requested that Hernandez be detained in a specific location, but he had refused.
From the PNP Custodial Center, Hernandez was moved to Pasay City Jail and was returned to the Senate this Monday.
Hernandez personally requested the House not to return him to the Senate after expressing concern for his safety upon revealing that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva were allegedly involved in multi-billion peso ghost flood projects.
Both senators vehemently denied their involvement in the DPWH ghost flood projects.
(Photos by Jayson Pulga)
