Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla claimed he was pushed by Senator Robinhood Padilla during a commotion at the Senate as 18 former Marines were being escorted to a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged flood control anomalies.
Remulla said the incident happened near the entrance of the Senate plenary hall while he was leaving the building and Padilla, Senator Pia Cayetano and the former Marines were entering the area.
“I was walking out when I was pushed aside,” Remulla said.
The Interior chief said he was at the Senate upon the request of Senate President Pro Tempore and Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian to help maintain order and security within the premises.
Tension reportedly broke out at the plenary hall entrance when Padilla and the group arrived.
Asked whether he tried to block Padilla and the former Marines from entering, Remulla denied the allegation.
“How could I do that? I was alone,” he said.
The 18 former Marines were invited as resource persons in the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Before the incident, Padilla and Cayetano reportedly met and escorted the former Marines from the Senate lobby after claims that some individuals, allegedly acting on orders from the opposing camp, were preventing them from entering the building.