Snapping out of reverie

It’s that time of year again when the curtain rises on a grand performance by legislators. Like clockwork, the stage has been set, and our lawmakers are dressed to the nines in their traditional barongs, suits, and gowns, some with lavish jewelry and accessories worth millions of pesos, prepared for the epic budget hearing showdowns. They have sharpened their swords — er, questions — poised to swoop down on the budget proposals of various government departments and agencies with fiery passion.

They’re ready to dissect education, healthcare, infrastructure, social services, etc., leaving no peso unturned in their quest for fiscal accountability.

The stakes are high in the halls of Congress, and the drama is often exaggerated — a curious ritual that unfolds every year. They criticize past, present, and future funding, demanding that every last detail be justified. With righteous indignation, they gather to scrutinize the budget proposals like hawks ready to pounce on their unsuspecting prey.

Yet, amidst this ferocious grilling, one glaring hypocrisy demands attention: when examining their own budget, they suddenly transform into rabbits, retreating into their burrows, willing to let the matter slide with barely a flicker of an inquiry.

This annual drama stirs frustration among political analysts and citizens who watch in disbelief as their lawmakers willingly engage in this selective scrutiny and so-called parliamentary courtesy.

Veteran broadcaster Ted Failon, in his teleradyo program on 12 September, asked Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas point-blank:

“Kalian pa nagka open public hearing para pagusapan budget ng kamara (When was there an open public hearing to discuss the chamber’s budget? Who defends the budget of the House?) Bakit walang committee hearing considering na lahat ng departamento at bureau pinasisipot nyo (Why is there no committee hearing considering that you summon all the departments and bureaus?) Bakit walang committee hearing na napapanood ang taong bayan (Why is there no committee hearing that the people can watch)?

Brosas’s reply that the House budget is tackled along with other departments’ attached agencies in the plenary deliberations did not please Failon.

“Anong (What) attached agency? The House is one sole independent entity,” Failon said. “Is that appropriate? Time-honored tradition ba yun… Bakit hindi kayo mag invoke na ibasura ang (Why don’t you invoke to trash the) time-honored tradition?”

Failon narrated how the House of Representatives, in last year’s bicameral meeting that decided the 2024 budget, received a whopping P12.5 billion increase from the proposed P16.17 billion budget to P28.693 billion.

Separate data showed the Senate also got a budget boost, with an increase of P2.175 billion from the proposed budget of P10.83 billion to P13.008 billion.

What is it about the congressional budget that turns fierce interrogators into silent observers? Are they like some chefs who critique every dish in the restaurant but shrug when it comes to tasting their own culinary creations? The question hangs in the air: Is there fear behind that silence, or simply indifference to the responsibilities they should uphold?

The irony of this scenario is thick enough. Here are representatives who campaign stridently on platforms of transparency and accountability, demanding that every peso spent by government agencies is justified and subjected to scrutiny. And yet, when it’s time to talk about their salaries, allowances, and operational expenses, they seem to forget their own principles. It’s almost as if an unspoken agreement exists that their budget is a “no-go” zone, a sacred ground where inquisitive minds dare not tread.

In retrospect, this phenomenon goes beyond mere hypocrisy; it breeds a sense of elitism that alienates elected officials from their constituents. How can we trust lawmakers who thrive on dissecting others’ budgets yet fail to examine their own?

Are we made to watch a magician performing dazzling sleight of hand tricks to distract us, the audience, while hiding the crucial details right under our noses?

The implications are dire as the congressional budget remains untouched in its alcove, and citizens struggling to make ends meet question the fairness of a system that allows legislators to circumvent scrutiny.

We ask ourselves: If our representatives can evade questions about their budget, how can we honestly expect them to advocate for the needs of ordinary Filipinos? The trust that should bind constituents and lawmakers begins to dissolve, leaving a landscape peppered with cynicism and suspicion.