Senators escort former Marines to Senate hearing

Senators and staff escorted 18 alleged former Marine soldiers into the Senate building on June 4 for a blue ribbon committee hearing on flood control projects. The group was met near a staircase by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, and accounts describe pushing between Remulla and one senator before the alleged former soldiers and accompanying staff reached the second-floor plenary hall.

Entry and reported confrontation An acting Senate president had stated earlier that day there was no scheduled business in the chamber. The alleged former Marines were listed as resource persons for the hearing. A senator who opened the session said she and the group had been prevented from entering and described the encounter with Remulla.

Remulla said he was leaving the building when the group approached and took a defensive stance near a door jamb. He rejected claims that he blocked entry, noting that a single person could not stop a large group and that no police accompanied him.

Context of the hearing The hearing was called by one Senate bloc to examine alleged corruption in flood control contracts. A separate blue ribbon committee under a different chair is scheduled to hold its own session on June 8. The interior secretary said he had arrived to discuss security arrangements outside the building, where about 1,300 police personnel were deployed amid protests, and to check on a request involving a detained local engineer also invited to testify.