P700 million for political theater

Twenty-eight days. An estimated P700 million in taxpayer money. And what did the Senate have to show for it? According to Sen. Ping Lacson, the answer is chaos.

The brief and turbulent reign of Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president will likely be remembered less for any legislation and more for the political spectacle. The chamber descended into a power struggle that saw boycotts, competing claims of leadership, disputed hearings, and a Senate seemingly unable to decide who was actually in charge.

Most troubling was the controversy surrounding the Senate’s taking of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa under its “protective custody” and his subsequent departure from the premises despite an ICC-issued warrant.

Regardless of one’s political position, the episode projected an image of an institution struggling to uphold order within its own walls.

It costs roughly P25 million a day to maintain the Senate. Every session delayed, every leadership dispute prolonged, and every political maneuver funded by taxpayers carries a hefty price.

Democracy is not cheap. Political instability is even more expensive.

The real issue is not who won the Senate power struggle. It is whether Filipinos received P700 million worth of governance or merely front-row seats to a political drama that should never have played out inside the nation’s highest legislative chamber.

— Jason Mago

Safe on the other side?

Congratulations to the Senate’s new majority. You won the political chess match.

The sessions are back, the committees are moving, and the institution appears functional again. Stability, we’re told, has prevailed.

But let’s not pretend that politics happened in a vacuum.

Some of the loudest defectors to the new majority, including former Senate President Chiz Escudero and Sen. Joel Villanueva, continue to face unresolved complaints. Those cases have not disappeared simply because the numbers on the floor changed.

This is the danger of transactional politics. The message it sends is unmistakable: Switch sides, join the winning coalition, and maybe the heat will die down. Maybe investigations will slow. Maybe accountability will be negotiable.

Whether or not this is true is almost beside the point. Public confidence is damaged the moment people begin to believe political loyalty is a currency that can buy institutional protection.

The burden is now on these senators to prove otherwise.

The same standard should apply to every member of the chamber, especially with an impeachment trial looming. Votes should never become bargaining chips, and pending cases should never become leverage in political negotiations.

The Senate is supposed to be the country’s highest deliberative body, not its largest trading floor.

The majority has won. Fine.

Now prove that principle won the victory, not promises whispered behind closed doors.

As for the public: Don’t forget the cases.

Changing seats should never erase accountability. — Carl Magadia

Walk in faith, walk by sight

Some believers place their faith in politicians simply because they speak the language of the Gospel.

Anyone can quote Scripture. Anyone can tell Bible stories. Anyone can sound holy.

Too many people mistake religion for integrity. They hear a Bible verse and assume honesty.

But politicians should be judged not by the verses they recite. Words are easy. Governance is hard. How leaders implement policies, spend public funds, and put people first speaks louder than any sermon.

Religious groups are becoming more vocal. They pray for peace amid Senate squabbles. They speak out against corruption. Good. But do not stop there.

Do not forget the lives lost in the drug war and the extrajudicial killings. Do not forget the farmers left behind while grand infrastructure projects took center stage. Do not forget the trillions in debt and the shrinking fiscal space left for future generations.

Justice cannot be selective. Faith cannot be selective. If you condemn corruption, condemn all corruption. If you seek justice, seek justice for all.

Walk in faith. But also walk by sight. Anyone can quote the Bible. Not everyone can live by it.