Erwin Tulfo denies Pia Cayetano's claims minority senators did not check on them during Senate shooting

Senator Erwin Tulfo on Thursday denied claims by Senator Pia Cayetano that minority bloc senators did not check on their colleagues during the shooting incident at the Senate last May 13.

Tulfo said members of the minority bloc actually sent messages through their Senate group chat.

“Hindi po. Yung kanyang emosyon po ay siguro po dala po ng takot. Pero noong sinabi niya po na wala pong nangumusta. Meron po kami yung chat group po sa WhatsApp. Lahat po ng mga members ng majority at saka ng mga minority yung 20th Congress na chat group,” Tulfo said.

(No. Her emotions were probably influenced by fear. But when she said that no one checked on them. We have a chat group on WhatsApp. All members of the majority and the minority are in the 20th Congress chat group.)

TIMELINE: What happened before, during, after Senate shooting incident

He said among the senators who sent their messages through the chat group during the Senate shooting incident were him, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Senator Bam Aquino, and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Senator Camille Villar, who was inside the Senate during the incident, replied saying that they were "okay," according to Tulfo.

“Meron po nagpadala po ng message. Nakita po doon si Senator Kiko, Senator Bam, Senator Sherwin, maging ako po, yung sa akin po, ipinadala ko po around 9:57. Tapos sumagot po yung si Senadora Camille, sabi niya, 'Thank you, we're all okay,’” he said.

(Some senators sent messages. I saw Senator Kiko, Senator Bam, Senator Sherwin there, and I sent mine around 9:57. Then Senator Camille replied, she said, 'Thank you, we're all okay.)

“Nag-message naman po kami sa WhatsApp group po namin. Ewan ko kung bakit hindi po nabasa ni Senator Pia po ‘yun,” he added.

(We actually sent a message to our WhatsApp group. I don't know why Senator Pia didn't see it.)

Asked what he said in his message, Tulfo said, “Ang mensahe ko po ay sabi ko, ‘Praying for all of you’ kasi nga po papunta po ako ng Baclaran po noon nang mga oras po na iyon. So ayun po, noong tinawag sa akin ng [chief of staff] ko na nagkakaputukan.”

(My message was, ‘Praying for all of you,' because I was on my way to Baclaran at that time. So, that was after my chief of staff called me and told me there were gunshots.)

Cayetano became emotional on Wednesday as she pushed back against Senator Risa Hontiveros' remarks criticizing the Senate's apparent "return to normalcy" following the shooting incident.

Tulfo, meanwhile, reiterated his call for a Senate investigation into the incident, saying lawmakers from both blocs still had many unanswered questions.

Hours after the shooting, Senator Bato dela Rosa left the Senate building while he was under protective custody amid an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

Tulfo said questions regarding the possible accountability of Senator Robin Padilla over the reported escape of Dela Rosa should first be addressed by the majority bloc and Senate leadership. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA News