Metro Manila, Philippines – Two senators said they found it unusual for an office in the Senate to be stripped bare of furnishings and fixtures by its former occupant, thus the need to refurbish the place to make it functional.
Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto was about to occupy the room of detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who formerly held the post under the short-lived leadership of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, but found it literally empty of everything.
In a post on X, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said it is not a practice to take down fixtures and take out furnishings when vacating an office space, countering a statement from Estrada’s office.
“Nothing was removed nor destroyed, precisely because government funds were used when I refurbished it when it was turned over to me,” he said, citing his own experience.
Senate President Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian did an ocular and said that it will “take some time and funds” for Sotto to move into the office, and that he was surprised as well at its condition.
In a statement, Estrada’s camp said Sotto’s team was given a heads up that the office would be emptied and the furnishings to be transferred to Estrada’s new space.
It described the move as a “standard practice in the Senate,” and that most of the items, including the floor tiles, glass panels, and cabinets, were bought with personal funds.
It added that Estrada was assigned the office in the same condition in 2022.
Lacson posted an AI-generated photo of Sotto sitting in the middle of an empty office.
His caption to the post: “Poor Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto. Naka monobloc table and chair at lampara na lang. Mistulang ‘barebones’ ang bago niyang opisina.”
[Translation: Poor Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto. He only has a monobloc table and chair and a lamp. His new office looks almost barebones.]
“Binaklas kasi lahat ng dating occupant – from the floor tiles, walls and cabinets to the toilet fixtures and wall outlets – inubos,” he added.
[Translation: The former occupant took everything – from the floor tiles, walls and cabinets to the toilet fixtures and wall outlets – wiped out.]
