Hontiveros, Cayetano butt heads over anti-online child abuse bill

MANILA, Philippines — Senators Risa Hontiveros and Pia Cayetano locked horns anew on Monday over an alleged attempt to close the period of amendments to the proposed expanded anti-online child sexual abuse bill despite a list of revisions that the latter still wanted to introduce.

As Hontiveros was about to read on the Senate floor Cayetano’s amendments to the measure, the latter stood up to ask about her colleague’s supposed plan to close the period of amendments last week.

“Your Honor knows that we have amendments, right?” Cayetano began. “So I was surprised that you ordered the closure last week, because I was very clear in telling you that we have amendments. And then today, you followed up again and asked that it be closed.”

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“So I hope we can follow due process in introducing amendments,” she added.

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Hontiveros denied it, saying that there must have been a “misunderstanding,” as she herself declared in the plenary last week that Cayetano would still introduce changes to the measure.

“There was no closing of the period for amendments last week,” she said.

Cayetano maintained her claim and even suggested that Hontiveros should check with her staff.

Hontiveros said she has been in constant communication with her staff and that it was clear to her that Cayetano would propose the amendments this Monday.

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“If she tells me now that she has further amendments later this week, that’s also fine. There was no attempt at all to close the period for amendments if our colleagues still have additional provisions they would like to add to improve this measure,” Hontiveros said.

This was not the first time that the two had butted heads in the plenary.

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Four months ago, Cayetano became emotional over Hontiveros’ “it’s as if nothing happened’ remark after the May 13 firefight between Senate security personnel and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

READ: Pia Cayetano sobs over Hontiveros’ remark on Senate shooting

Cayetano was among those inside the Senate building at that time.

“Maybe for those of you who were not here, it may seem that nothing happened. But for those of us who were here, a lot happened. I was very scared — so scared that I felt I had to say goodbye to my children,” she said then in Filipino.

“So to say that nothing happened is very painful for all of us who were here…” she went on.

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Last June, the two got into a heated exchange over amendments to the proposed Anti-Hospital Detention law. /mcm