(UPDATE) SEN. Nancy Binay said she would consult her lawyers about whether to file a complaint against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano before the Senate Committee on Ethics for his "ungentlemanly conduct" toward her during a public hearing.

The two senators had a heated argument Wednesday during the Senate inquiry, led by Cayetano, on the increased cost in the construction of the new Senate building in Taguig City.

Binay said Cayetano insulted her during what she described as a politically motivated hearing in which the goal was to go after the Binays.

She slammed Cayetano for calling her names such as "nabuang" (gone crazy) and "Marites" street lingo for someone gossipy or nosy.

"I would consult first with my staff on what appropriate action to take," Binay said in Filipino and English.

"I haven't read the whole transcript (of the public hearing) and our legal team will study it first. I'll let you know if we decide to elevate it to the ethics committee," she said.

She added, in Filipino: "If that's the way he picks a fight with a woman, I guess, we just have to manage our expectations of this senator."

Describing Cayetano as "among the most senior senators," she said his actions were unbecoming of a senator — but that she has learned to accept this kind of behavior "if your surname is Binay."

The two political families have clashed before over jurisdiction over communities that straddle Makati, controlled by the Binays, and Taguig, under the Cayetanos.

Cayetano is conducting the probe as chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts overseeing the expenses of the Senate.

He succeeded Binay as accounts panel head after a Senate coup that replaced Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate president and installed Sen. Francis Escudero as his successor.

Binay on Wednesday walked out of the Senate hearing after Cayetano insulted her and accused her of trying to sabotage the inquiry.

Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, overseeing the new Senate building construction, called Binay names as soon as she walked out.

Cayetano said the construction cost had ballooned to P23 billion, including P1.6 billion for land acquisition. But Binay, former accounts panel, insisted that the construction cost was merely P21 billion.

He said it was the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is overseeing the project, that gave the documents to him that showed the project cost. "Ma'am, the problem is you were not listening," Cayetano told Binay in Filipino.

In response, Binay said, "Mr. Chairman, you don't know how to read."

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