These days, all eyes are on the House of Representatives where high-profile convicts and former law enforcement officials talk about the corruption that supposedly took place in the maximum security compound of the national penitentiary. Everybody and his neighbor have an opinion about the protagonists and whether the witnesses are even credible to begin with.
Last week, the nation was abuzz about a supposed member of a vigilante group—led by the President, no less—that played god with the lives of its victims. The Senate investigation also gave us a peek into the animosity between certain lawmakers, convincing us that, indeed, there are no permanent friends in politics—just permanent interests.
We have lost track of how many congressional investigations there have been, supposedly in aid of legislation. We have seen how many a probe—with the accompanying drama, sleaze, and raw emotion—has generated attention from street dwellers to corporate executives. ‘Schadenfreude’—the pleasure derived from witnessing the misfortune of others—is never more at play than when Filipinos are glued to their television or other devices, following hearings as they would a sappy movie or a long-running show.
Across various administrations, however, the results have been the same.
The interest reaches sensational proportions, but the hype eventually wanes. The hearings end but hardly anybody bothers to read the report that comes out of it—if a report ever really gets written at all. It is unlikelier still for anyone to follow what laws or amendments to laws arise from the hearings, of if any actual court cases are filed as a result of them.
Then again, these are the first hearings conducted during an administration that ran and won on the promise of real change. We cannot anymore control the repercussions of the testimonies, but we can be vigilant about what happens after all the noise has died down. And then perhaps the lawmakers will take it upon themselves to follow through—that is, after all, still a part of their job.
