It’s not every day that DAILY TRIBUNE’s usually serious Straight Talk digital show gets to interview a political analyst and a stand-up comedian rolled into one.
Last week, Atty. Edward Chico, who has regular comedic gigs in the metro, presented himself as such a guy and regaled Katribu viewers with his funny take on recent developments in the political landscape. On Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero wresting the Senate presidency from Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Chico said there was nothing out of the blue about the development.
“That’s expected,” said Chico, “as our political landscape has always been marked by ambivalence” and “as they say, what is politics but showbiz for ugly people.”
Zubiri last week stepped down as Senate President with Escudero taking up the post several months after rumors swirled about efforts to topple him for being “difficult” for the powers that be.
Fifteen of the 24 senators voted to oust Zubiri, but a week after the upheaval it remains a puzzler what really pushed him over the precipice.
Chico explained that it has proven easy through the years to affect leadership changes in either house of Congress because of the lack of a strong party system in the Philippines.
“In the United States, there is so much stability because, more or less, you can identify certain leanings of certain politicians,” he said.
In contrast, parties in the Philippines, according to the analyst, “exist for convenience. Loyalty or affiliation is almost always dependent on the politicians’ vested interests and how they want them pursued or promoted.”
The law professor said parties in the Philippines exist for convenience and for as long as that remains the case, leadership changes in either the Senate or the House of Representatives would continue to occur regularly.
He said that while the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are “theoretically independent and co-equal,” history has shown that the executive can sometimes encroach on the legislative’s territory or supersede the judiciary.
“If a president gets elected, even if they (legislators) are in an independent party, just wait for two to three months and almost all of them will be in the majority,” Chico said.
The current multi-party system further complicates the political landscape, making it difficult for leaders to maintain their positions, he added.
