Now that the winning senators have been proclaimed by the Commission on Elections, many Filipinos are pondering how they, aside from those already sitting, will perform their legislative duties when the next Congress begins.
The composition of the Senate will be crucial to the passage of laws that the country needs. These laws will create or enhance an environment that is conducive to economic growth and to social equity. And then, inquiries in aid of legislation will be held not as political theater but as a reliable basis for laws that will be crafted in the future.
Still, at least for the coming Congress, the senators will split their time and attention between their legislative duties and act as members of an impeachment court – a decidedly political exercise. The trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte is seen to captivate the people, whichever side of the political fence they are on.
The Vice President, interviewed in Davao City, said she had already made peace with whatever the outcome of the trial would be.
“I already accepted the verdict whether it is guilty or acquittal,” she said.
In the same breath, the at-peace Vice President said she wants the trial to proceed because she “really wants a bloodbath.”
“Bloodbath” conjures images of violence, great injury, and even death. Or it could also mean that she is ready to launch war against her political enemies who dared question her use of public funds. Will she relentlessly go after her accusers? Or she could be foregrounding a defeat that she would then frame as persecution. That would surely enhance her family’s image as hapless victims, worthy of even greater sympathy.
The Dutertes, after all, are not known for their clarity, consistency, or forthrightness.
Whatever she means, we are rooting for the exact opposite: for the next few months not to be a bloodbath.
May the new set of senators remember that they are not beholden to anyone but to the people who elected them. They must then champion the interests of their constituents, not their political patrons.
May they conduct themselves as impartial judges who would act and speak based on the evidence at hand, instead of resorting to conjecture and theatrics. May they study the documents closely and distinguish fact from disinformation or propaganda.
And may they remember that while the impeachment trial is going on, they still have other duties in the Senate. May they make themselves available and capable still because this is what they swore to do for the people who elected them and who pay their wages.
Ultimately, if the senators are not able to strike a balance among their equally pressing duties, the result will be the continued suffering of the people – a bloodbath in terms of wrong priorities, a dearth of worthy laws passed, and a wild political ride with no tangible effects on our way of life.