A netizen has called out what they see as hypocrisy and selectiveness in Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian’s warning against taking “wacky shots” inside the Senate session hall, after he said the incident would be investigated because it violates the rules.
His remarks came amid the looming issue involving the prosecution panel in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte and the controversy surrounding a wacky photo taken inside the plenary.
“Pero ito pwede? Cherry picking ka @/stgatchalian ha” the netizen said over a throwback wacky photo of Gatchalian, Lacson, Zubiri, and Hontiveros at the Plenary.
If the plenary is indeed a “sacred” institution, then its rules should apply consistently—not selectively, depending on who is involved or what political circumstances surround an incident.
The issue is not simply whether taking wacky photos inside the session hall is appropriate. It is whether the same standards of conduct and accountability are expected from everyone.
Rules lose their credibility when their enforcement appears selective. And when public officials invoke institutional dignity, the public has every right to ask whether that principle is being upheld consistently—or only when it becomes politically convenient.