Ping-Marcoleta word war rages

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March 5, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The word war between Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Rodante Marcoleta seems far from over.

Lacson took to X, formerly Twitter, to dismiss the criticisms hurled against him in plenary by Marcoleta, who in a privilege speech on Tuesday criticized Lacson for taking advantage of Marcoleta’s controversial “give up the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG)” remark.

While he was tempted to respond, Lacson said he would rather not dignify his arch-critic’s statements.

But it did not stop him from throwing shade – by citing a passage from a Chinese book of maxims.

He offered no explanation for making a reference to China in relation to Marcoleta.

“Yesterday, I was tempted but chose not to respond. I would have used a language that my colleague may better understand: Xiao chong bu ke yu bing,” Lacson said.

“It means, ‘You cannot explain ice to a summer insect,’” he said.

The saying quoted by Lacson is attributed to the Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text that consists of stories and maxims. – Bella Cariaso