Senatorial candidate Luke Espiritu's rebuttals against rivals Harry Roque and Larry Gadon during debate hosted by SMNI television went viral on Twitter Thursday, with netizens crowning him the "bardagulan king."
Labor leader Espiritu, who is running with presidential candidate Leody de Guzman, got some 11,000 mentions on Twitter for firing back at the two Senate hopefuls under the UniTeam slate of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte.
When Roque cleared Marcos Jr. of theft during the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s rule, Espiritu asked for his microphone to be turned on.
"With all due respect to Atty. Harry Roque, I know your history. You were anti-Marcos before. You were for human rights before. You spent your life against the Marcoses, you work for human rights and now that you were given a Senate spot under the party of Bongbong Marcos, now you cry hallelujah and praise Marcos?" Espiritu said.
When Gadon asked the candidates not to use the debates to sow "propaganda" against the Marcoses, Espiritu also clapped back.
"Binuksan mo ang usapan, 'wag mo akong pagbawalan. I go by the record, Amnesty International 3,257 ang pinatay noong panahon ni Marcos, 35,000 ang mga, it's my time 'wag kang bastos, it's my time," he told Gadon.
"35,000 ang tinorture, 70,000 ang kinulong. It's a matter of record," he said.
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Netizens on Twitter praised Espiritu for "roasting" the two Marcos-backed candidates.
"Atty. Luke Espiritu is the bardagulan king we need in the Senate," one netizen said.
"THE BARDAGULAN WE ALL ASKED FOR," another said.
Labor leader and lawyer Espiritu earned his communication degree and juris doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University. He is running under the Partido Lakas ng Masa.
If elected, he said he would file Senate bills to regularize employees and their security of tenure. He also vowed to raise the daily minimum wage to P750 and to scrap the regional wage boards.
Watch the whole debate here: