[Inside the Newsroom] ‘Noted!’: Understanding Loren Legarda’s beef with Kiko Pangilinan

Senator Loren Legarda, a voters’ favorite in every senatorial election she ever ran in, is not exactly the darling of some crowds these days. 

The former news anchor, who finished first in the 1998 and 2007 polls, and second in the 2013 and 2022 elections (to Grace Poe and Robin Padilla, respectively), is being condemned (even disowned) by some quarters. For having joined the DDS senators to oust her former allies in the now-minority, she’s called a political butterfly; for comforting a weepy fellow senator while facing the camera at just the perfect angle, she’s dismissed as pretentious and performative. 

Now, she’s begrudged for making references to Senator Francis Pangilinan’s infamous “Noted!” remark from — ready your shocked emojis, kids — 22 years ago. 

Hello! I’m Miriam Grace Go, Rappler’s managing editor. Let me fill you in on what stirred up Legarda last Tuesday, May 26, during the Senate’s plenary session.   

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In 2004, I was in touch with political operators from both the camps of then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her strongest rival, actor and businessman Fernando Poe Jr. 

The operation to make Arroyo win was so sophisticated. To uncover it during the canvassing of votes, the camp of Poe — including his running mate, Legarda — had to ask the canvassing committee, composed of lawmakers, to go beyond the traditional checking of just the certificates of canvass (COCs) that showed the provincial totals. They wanted the election returns (ERs) to be opened as well to see the municipal breakdowns.

The purpose of forcing the opening of ERs was dual: In areas where the alleged cheating was done by filling up authentic ERs with bloated votes before election day, they wanted to show the ERs were accomplished and thumb-marked by the same hands. In areas where admin operators supposedly just tampered with the COCs, they wanted to show that the numbers in the ERs didn’t add up to the figures in the COCs.   

At every turn, Pangilinan, a member of the canvassing committee, blocked these efforts by just saying, “Noted!” Technicalities were skillfully cited. He was obviously following a party strategy. At the time, Arroyo led Lakas-CMD, which dominated the House contingent, and she was honorary chair of the Liberal Party, which led the Senate and to which Pangilinan belonged.  

So, back to last Tuesday’s Senate session — amid the continuing chaotic and tense atmosphere under Alan Cayetano’s leadership. Senators were debating the majority’s insistence on changing the rules to allow absentee colleagues to vote on measures or motions online. Legarda was presiding; Cayetano was moving to divide the house for a vote; Pangilinan was questioning why the rush and why he and other minority senators were not being allowed to speak.  

“Are we now curtailing my right to speak, Mister President?” Pangilinan said (emphasis mine). 

That set off Legarda, who obviously thought she was the one Pangilinan was questioning. 

“Ah, please know that I would never curtail your right to speak just as, in 2004, I believe you were seated, and I was the vice presidential candidate of FPJ then, and my microphone was closed, and my right to speak was closed, was not given,” Legarda addressed Pangilinan from the rostrum. 

“I remember that time now, and the word ‘Noted’ was said to me. That will not happen now. I will not do that to you…. I would not do what I experienced in 2004 at the House of Representatives in the canvassing of the votes then.” 

Am I saying Legarda was cheated by rival Noli de Castro Jr. the same way Poe could have been — most likely — cheated by Arroyo? No. In fact, the Supreme Court, as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, dismissed Legarda’s protest. 

Am I saying we take pity on Legarda? No. We’ve always said, having entered politics, dapat matibay ang sikmura nila. However, I have been covering and closely watching campaigns and elections longer than her political career, and it makes me understand how she reacted to this accusation of preventing someone from speaking in a proper forum. 

In 2004, I, too, was frustrated (to think I was just a spectator) — in equal measure over the missed opportunity of uncovering what the ERs could have shown, and over the obvious maneuvering that Pangilinan and the administration canvassers showed they could be capable of. 

So, let’s at least give Legarda that. She had reason to be triggered during the plenary session last Tuesday. Let’s not deny her whatever grievance she turned out to still be carrying from 2004. To her credit, she quickly collected herself and didn’t launch into a lengthy melodrama. (It seems she learned from the backlash from Pia Cayetano’s “Wala ni isa sa inyong nangumusta sa amin” episode of May 20.) 

To Pangilinan’s credit, too, he remained respectful and focused on the issue at hand even while he had to raise his voice to be heard above simultaneous talking in the hall. (I wonder if Robin Padilla was traumatized a second time.)  He also clarified that he was referring to Cayetano, not Legarda, as the one curtailing the minority’s right to speak. (Thus, my emphasis on “Mister” — not Madam — President earlier.)

Actually, Pangilinan had long ago made up for the “Noted” episode. He said in August 2011, or seven years later: “We reiterate our position that we were not privy to and did not participate in any cheating operations in 2004. We were simply doing our job as mandated by law. In fact, when the evidence of fraud surfaced a year later with ‘Hello Garci,’ we in the Liberal Party condemned the efforts at vote manipulation and called for Arroyo’s resignation.”  

Of course, we all know that Legarda being composed and Pangilinan being respectful in an already heated session failed to prevent the members of the minority from walking out later that afternoon. But that’s another story. 

If you are curious about the details of how the presidential vote was manipulated, I encourage you to check out my stories once the archives of Newsbreak magazine are up on Rappler (soon!): “The New Battleground” from October 11, 2004, and “Cheats Inc” from September 12, 2005. 

Meanwhile, you can support our journalism by signing up for a Rappler Plus membership or by donating to our investigative fund. – Rappler.com

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