MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta‘s attempt to dismiss Sen. Risa Hontiveros‘ argument in a rules debate by invoking legal background has drawn criticism for appearing to reduce legislative work to lawyering, even as the Senate itself is composed of both lawyers and non-lawyers.
The exchange happened during the Senate plenary session on Tuesday, May 26, as senators debated Marcoleta’s motion to amend rules on remote participation.
The proposal has drawn scrutiny from the 11-member minority because it could allow senators who are not physically present to join plenary sessions through teleconference, amid questions over whether it could benefit Sen. Bato Dela Rosa and potentially, other senators dealing with criminal cases.
The clash
Marcoleta, with a copy of the Senate rules in hand, argued that his motion was not new and had already been raised on May 11.
He claimed that Section 136 of the Senate rules, which deals with amendments to the rules, was a special provision that should prevail over Section 24, which covers committee referrals.
Hontiveros countered that the motion being taken up was new because the first motion had been referred to the Committee on Rules, which she said had not yet been constituted with minority representation.
“Bagong mosyon ito, Madam President,” Hontiveros said, addressing presiding chair Sen. Loren Legarda. “Kung kaya’t nag-a-apply po ang Section 136, na kailangan bigyan ng isang araw pa pagkatapos itong i-move bago talakayin.”
Marcoleta replied: “Madam President, without giving meaning to anything, ito po ang mahirap kasi kung wala po tayong legal background dito.”
The backlash
The line was quickly picked up online, partly because Hontiveros, though not a lawyer, has served multiple terms in Congress and the Senate.
It also invited comparisons with Marcoleta’s own allies in the chamber, including Sen. Robin Padilla, an actor-turned-senator who earlier said after winning a Senate seat that he was considering hiring lawyers to help him in legislative work.
Their majority colleague Sen. Imee Marcos, meanwhile, took up law for a time but did not complete the training, having failed to earn a bachelor’s degree in the first place.
One X user posted a meme showing Marcoleta’s line beside an image of Padilla, writing: “Pre parang hindi tropa.”
“Pre parang hindi tropa…” pic.twitter.com/vU77cJCHfK
— Kapitan Tambay (@KapitanTambay) May 26, 2026
Kabalastugan on X, a humor account, captioned a meme “friendly fire,” pairing the quote “wala kang legal background!” with a reference to “ikaw na may illegal background.”
friendly fire pic.twitter.com/kV3mqZkMBP
— kabulastugan (@kblstgn) May 27, 2026
In a letter to the editor, concerned citizen Reni M. Valenzuela wrote to Philstar.com that Marcoleta’s remark was an afford on non-lawyers more broadly.
“Marcoleta’s ‘politeness’ to Hontiveros is an insult not only to the lady legislator, but to the Filipinos who are not lawyers,” Valenzuela wrote, arguing that the line reduced participation in lawmaking to having a legal background.
Party reaction
Akbayan, Hontiveros’ party, criticized Marcoleta in a May 27 statement, calling the remark “unparliamentary” and “hardly surprising coming from one of the Dutertes’ most loyal political pitbulls.”
“Marcoleta’s attack was unparliamentary, but hardly surprising coming from one of the Dutertes’ most loyal political pitbulls,” Akbayan Party President Rafaela David said.
David also linked the remark to recent cases involving Marcoleta’s alleged campaign donors, saying he “thinks highly of himself as a lawyer, yet failed to declare his campaign donations and even stupidly admitted it on national television.”
The Ombudsman has asked the Sandiganbayan to issue a precautionary hold departure order against Marcoleta, former lawmaker Mike Defensor and two others. Dela Rosa, meanwhile, has not returned to the Senate after showing up once and evading an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on May 14. — Camille Diola with video report from Anjilica Andaya
