Senator Jinggoy Estrada and former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent Jonathan Morales exchanged barbs on Monday during a Senate panel hearing after they brought up each other's criminal cases.
During the hearing, Morales was about to present before the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs a CCTV footage related to the alleged leaking of PDEA documents containing the names of certain personalities involved in illegal drugs.
The footage showed Morales' conversation with Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation agent Romeo Enriquez. The latter can be heard speaking to former National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) agent Eric Santiago over the phone, supposedly trying to stop Morales from testifying before the Senate.
However, Estrada and other senators present during the hearing pointed out that the video seemed altered, prompting them to ask Morales to submit the original copy of the CCTV footage to the Senate committee on public order.
"Mr. Chair, how can we be sure if the video that is going to be presented before the committee is totally unedited? Knowing this person has a lot of criminal records,” Estrada told panel head Senator Bato dela Rosa.
Morales appeared to have been insulted by Estrada's remark and responded.
"Parang di naman po maganda yung sinasabi ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, parang ako naman talaga hinuhusgahan. Eh ako, may kaso pa lang at di pa napapatunayan sa hukuman, hindi kagaya po ng ating butihing senador ay na-convict na po. Wag naman po ganun," Morales said.
Estrada quickly clapped back and retorted: "Alam mo Mr. Morales huwag mo pakikialaman ‘yung kaso ko. Problema ko ‘yun. ‘Yung kaso mo ang ayusin mo, ha?”
Dela Rosa then intervened to defuse the tension, reminding Morales to treat Estrada with respect as an elected senator.
"Please do not question Sen. Jinggoy dahil trabaho niya yan bilang senador at vice chairman ng commttee na magtatanong sa iyo... Insulting yan on the part of this committee hindi lang sa person ni Sen. Jinggoy pati ako sa as chairman para bang harap-harapan pinapahiya mo yung committee," Dela Rosa said.
"Sana wag tayo humantong sa personalan dito, mawawala tayo sa ating objective," he added, to which Morales apologized.
During the previous hearings, Estrada expressed his belief that it was Morales who leaked the PDEA operational dossiers himself.
