Has the Philippine Senate been turned into a drama studio?
All the incidents happening at the Senate are so disturbing that the public is losing its respect for the institution.
The ongoing “tele-Senate” premiered last 11 May when Senator Tito Sotto was unseated by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President. It is said that the characters did not follow the script. Reports to this day circulate that Senator Loren Legarda wanted to be the lead actress by convincing her colleagues to make her Senate President. Apparently, that didn’t happen.
She’s now even being branded a turncoat by shifting allegiance without informing former allies Sotto and Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. So, there was treachery to thicken the plot. Deception? That story twist was assigned to Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa since he was obviously tricked into showing up at the Senate — without him knowing that an arresting team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was waiting for him in the building.
DRIVEN to tears by Risa Hontiveros’ speech regarding a gun-firing incident at the Senate; Pia Cayetano expressed fear for her life and was mockingly crowned ‘best actress’ by netizens.
Photographs by Aram Lascano for DAILY TRIBUNE
By 13 May, the “tele-Senate” turned full action with a shootout that made the scenes from Batang Quiapo look like a production of Walt Disney. It depends on one’s political alliance. Some say it was staged. But there are others who believe there was a real threat at the Senate that day.
The acting workshop, however, was initiated by Senator Risa Hontiveros when she made a privilege speech that drove Senator Pia Cayetano to tears. Hontiveros simply called out the Senate for “making the 13 May gun-firing episode appear like it was a normal incident.” Hontiveros’ delivery of her privilege speech must have been so heart-wrenching, it made Cayetano cry.
When it was Cayetano’s turn to speak, she said that she was so scared for her life when guns were fired at the Senate — to the point that she had to say goodbye to her children. Some wise guys on social media immediately crowned her “best actress.”
All the incidents happening at the Senate are so disturbing that the public is losing its respect for the institution. Anyone who has a platform should write or speak about it because — as Hontiveros said — the shooting incident “was not normal.” From my end, I will try to tackle the ongoing Senate scandal in the most non-partisan manner possible. For this edition of The Butcher, I will go back to that period when some members of the Philippine Senate were still in showbiz full-time.
