At a time when ordinary Filipino families are confronting a real crisis — fuel, food, fertilizer, and the existential uncertainty brought by the Hormuz blockade, newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano has chosen to stage a crisis of his own making.
What has unfolded last week following his installation as new Senate president is the Duterte brand of politics in full display: crisis, chaos, and confusion.
The sudden Senate leadership shake-up, coming just as the chamber was expected to convene as an impeachment court, demands a simple question: Why now? Why change leadership at the precise moment when the Senate’s constitutional duty requires sobriety, independence, and public trust?
Before the public could fully examine that question, another spectacle emerged: Senator Bato dela Rosa, long absent from the Senate, suddenly becoming the center of a made-for-television drama. A wanted senator. A chase. Armed personnel. Battle gear. Warning shots. Tears and theatrics in the session hall. It had all the ingredients of a political teleserye, except the Republic is not a stage, and accountability is not a script.
Dela Rosa must answer before the ICC. But the larger issue now is how his appearance conveniently distracted from the Senate’s own accountability, especially as it prepares to sit in judgment on Vice President Sara Duterte.
Even Senator Robin Padilla’s threat to file an ethics complaint against Senator Kiko Pangilinan looked like another attempt to hijack attention. Every distraction serves the same purpose: Exhaust the public, confuse the narrative, and bury the real questions.
Filipinos must keep their eyes on the ball. The Dutertes’ rapacity is a huge part of the reason why the Republic is in such deep trouble. Their politics has normalized impunity, rewarded brutality, weakened institutions, and treated public office as family property.
Their allies in the Senate appear blinded by power. They behave as if the Republic can be sacrificed so long as they stay in power.
But we the Filipino people are not stupid. We are tired. We are burdened. We are trying to survive real crises, not political theater.
We the people demand accountability, especially of politicians running from responsibility.