“Harutan sa Batasan”: Video of Sen. Sandro Marcos “distracting” Cavite Rep. Aniela Tolentino goes viral

A video clip capturing a candid moment between two neophyte lawmakers during a plenary session at the House of Representatives on Wednesday became a trending topic in social media.

In the clip, Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Aniela Tolentino (Cavite, Eighth District) is spotted playfully interacting with Senior Majority Floor Leader Rep. Sandro Marcos (Ilocos Norte, First District) while making a motion on the floor.

Tolentino was reading the House’s Order of Business with the presidential son beside her when she committed a pronunciation error.

With his back to the camera, Marcos appeared to be amusing or tease her for the error.

She then chuckled, playfully slapped Marcos’ arm, and made a quick gesture in his direction before returning to her task.

Marcos smiled and followed the motion by stepping back from the podium before returning to it right away.

The Lower House broadcast the event live on its Facebook page on August 31, and anyone could see it there.

At the video’s timestamp of 52:32, Tolentino begins to speak. The specific incident involving Marcos can be seen starting at the timestamp 53:56.

A piece of this was also posted to TikTok, where it has received about 600 comments, 98,500 heart reactions, and approximately 1.8 million views.

Twitter users couldn’t resist weighing in on what’s been dubbed as “Harutan sa Batasan” (rough translation: teasing at Batasan. Batasan is Batasang Pambansa Complex, the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines).

Reactions ranged from disapproving to obliging, with some people questioning the appropriateness of playful behavior in the august halls of the Congress, while others found it cute to see two young lawmakers having light moments like normal human beings.