Genius or insanity?

We constantly hear the phrase “the line between genius and insanity is very thin". As we come to know, this phrase suggests a close connection between immense creativity and mental instability. In many of our worldly experiences, we tend to confuse brilliance with folly. Historically linked by figures like Aristotle, this idea posits that both genius and insanity involve unconventional thinking and challenging norms, often making them difficult to distinguish.

The spoken words of a man can be the fastest way to understand the depth of his wisdom for these are the outward signs of his mental experience. We can say that a man is genius from his verbal exposition. I read somewhere that the tongue of the wise commends knowledge. Conversely, a man’s vocal expressions can reveal his psychological state. In our earthly sojourn, we have come face to face with the disturbing fact that “the mouths of fools pour out folly.”

I really tried to understand the mind of Senator Robin Padilla, when he made public his position on the impending impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio. I had to consider the fact that even if we knew that he was once a convicted criminal, we still gave him the highest number of votes in the May 9, 2022 elections. It was unprecedented, I mean his electoral success. Despite his mind-boggling popularity, I have to ask what could be his mental experience or psychological state when he recently declared that the Senate minority bloc will oppose the convening of the Senate as an impeachment court if the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted from the House of Representatives. Or to be fair, let us put the question was he quoted correctly saying that is the duty of the opposition?

My reading of the Constitution does not jibe with the Senator Padilla declaration. Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, in its Section 3 paragraph 4 provides that “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.” I have not read of any provision in our fundamental law that gives the Senate the option not to convene as an impeachment court the moment the articles are forwarded to the Senate by the House of Representatives. In short, I do not know where Senator Padilla based his declaration. But because more than 26 million Filipinos voted him number 1 senator in the 2022 polls, he must the genius to know something more about our fundamental law that ordinary mortals do not know.

I am, however, disappointed rather disturbed to hear Senator Padilla saying that it is the duty of the opposition to try to block the convening of the impeachment court. His words border more on ignorance than folly. It is not genius for a senator to fail to understand the nature of impeachment proceedings. Impeachment in the Philippines is a constitutional, sui generis (of its own kind) political process, designed to remove high-ranking officials like a vice president for serious violations of trust and misconduct. It acts as a constitutional safeguard for accountability rather than a punitive mechanism.

There is nowhere written in our Constitution that a senator can block the impeachment court from being convened simply because he belongs to the opposition and the person to be impeached is a partymate. Indeed the declaration of the senator alerts me to the question: Is he a genius or insane?