No, the title of this column is not about new Senate President Tito Sotto giving his views about TV news anchor Jessica Soho. It’s about showbiz personality Sotto’s celebrated gaffes on Soho’s State of the Nation news show on GMA TV
Social media bashers feasted on Sotto for giving the wrong title of the national anthem as “Bayang Magiliw” instead of “Lupang Hinirang.” But hey, don’t single out Sotto. A lot of Filipinos make that mistake. In fact, many Pinoys don’t know the complete words of the Philippine Anthem. Try asking the rest of the 22 other senators and the 293 congressmen to sing the anthem in full and you will be surprised only a few can.
What’s in a title, anyway? Sotto’s new title as Senate president doesn’t really mean much to many political observers. The carping critics for sure think the upper chamber could have made a better choice than Sotto. The names of Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon come to mind. But then, these men have strong independent personalities that make enemies among peers.
If there is a bigger mistake, according to the political pundits, it’s that of the senators who voted Sotto Senate president.
Politics is, after all, show business. Knowing how to mix and not oppose the views of your colleagues in the chamber is the formula for winning votes. Plus, Sotto apparently has the nod of the Palace which gave the word to the other senators on how to vote. For sure there will be an uproar from the other senators who will deny that they follow Malacanang’s order. But whether it’s the House or the Senate, politics is always a numbers game dictated by the supermajority.
Not totally able to crush Sotto, the bashers dredged up his alleged plagiarism of US Senator Robert Kennedy’s speech. Sotto defended himself saying what he said in his privilege speech in the Senate was merely a translation of the American’s words.
Sotto also cited his record in the Senate of the 100 bills he proposed. These were passed and made into laws. Not on the social media bashers’ radar were Sotto’s weak knee stand on China’s intrusion in the West Philippine Sea. More recently, Sotto said that as Senate President he would not interfere in matters involving the Judiciary. He said this when most of his colleagues in the Senate had issued statements denouncing the quo warranto decision of eight Supreme Court justices that ousted chief magistrate Maria Lourdes Sereno.
So what happened to that don’t-rock-the-boat policy of Sotto? Well, he’s Senate President now and the one calling the shots is the man who lives in and holds office by the Pasig.
(Why is Jessica Soho such a good interviewer on TV? Unlike other news anchors, Jessica does not impose her own views in the program. She just lets her subject project himself as a capable official—or display his own inadequacy and be the object of derisive feedback. This was what happened to Sotto.)
The Senate presidency used to be such a prestigious post when it was held by Senators Blas Ople and Juan Ponce Enrile. Now a former showbiz comedian presides over the Senate. It would be funny if it weren’t pathetic. But that’s how low the Senate has sunk because of Malacanang’s manipulation.
Not-so-Smart
We are no longer talking about Sotto here. Why does Smart, the mobile phone carrier, do dumb things? I keep getting these stupid and bothersome messages constantly telling me about Smart’s promotions and deals. These messages come in fours and in the middle of the night and early morning when I’m trying to get some sleep.
Because of this nuisance calls , I have decided to switch to Globe and hopefully not get the same irritating, ringing message I get from Smart. Why don’t I just put my cellphone on silent mode? Then again, what if I need to answer an urgent call?
If I still get a similar nuisance from Globe, then it’s the inept National Telecommunications Commission I should blame.
Incidentally, whatever happened to the plan of allowing a third telecom carrier to come in and break the duopoly of Smart and Globe so subscribers can get a cheaper rate on their calls and text messages?
But please don’t let it be a Chinese company or else the country’s sensitive communications and national security information will be hacked.