Above headline is a quote from a certain senator who was chased by NBI agents afternoon of Monday, May 11. He was horrified that the NBI was interested in him, so interested that he had to be chased through three flights of stairs up to the door of the Senate session hall. “This is the See-neet!” he fumed as he banged a senator’s desk, before cameras, in protest. Cut!
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano announced three things on Thursday, May 14:
?One, the so-called siege on the Senate Wednesday afternoon (May 13) til early hours of Thursday (May 14) was not staged to provide a cover of chaos and darkness for the greatest Senate escape act of all time. He implied that the National Bureau of Investigation was behind the attack – something the Palace and the NBI chief Melvin Matibag both deny.
At least 32 rounds of gunfire were fired in the alley that connects the Senate building to the GSIS, the Senate building’s owner. Fortunately, the guys who exchanged gunfire, the chief of Senate security with a fancy title of “sergeant-at-arms” although he is a general, and an NBI operative, described as a part-time “volunteer” – “asset” to use spying lingua franca – hurt no one.
Why a general on the Senate side? Well, Bato is a high value target. Why a volunteer on the NBI side? Well, why not? In NBI’s first attempt to collar Bato, on Monday afternoon, the NBI employed two lovely NBI lady agents – maybe to melt the stone in Bato’s heart. Instead, Bato summoned his cowardly instinct and ran with the savvy and speed of a scared rat. The bulky senator ran with such furious passion he stumbled, hurting three fingers – the ones he uses for making the dirty sign. The stumble for freedom made a caricature out of Bato before the world. But it endeared him to his wife. Faithful siya.
Incidentally, expect drama now and then from the Senate. There are a number of actors in the Senate – all of them action stars. And lover boys. Not to be outdone, the non-actors can give real actors a run for their money. These gentlemen-senators are not only good looking and married to celebrities in their own right. They have money. Flood control was not invented for nothing, you know. Adding an element of political incest are four sets of siblings – good ones, bad ones and in between. As Erap used to joke, there are two ways to a good love life – romancing and kalansing (the sound of money).
?Two, Alan encouraged fugitive senator Bato dela Rosa to escape, or exit – on a technicality, there was no arrest warrant yet served on the Senate buffoon at the time of his disorderly 2:30 a.m. Thursday departure.
Apparently, the so-called Senate protective custody for the Great Rock of the Senate was not doing good for the Senate reputation, or whatever remains of it. Because every day that Bato stays in custody of the Senate is a day of worsening nadir for the Senate reputation or whatever remains of it. Better to eject the guy now from the Senate premises before a raging crowd storms the Senate’s rented bayside building to flush out the highest paid scalawags in the malignant bureaucracy.
?Three, the Senate, as an impeachment court, will try Vice President Sara Duterte. But it will not be forthwith or immediate. Sa July 2026 pa when the next Congress convenes. Which means anything can happen between now and July.
?Seriously now, surveys say there is a high public awareness of the impeachment case against VP Sara Duterte – nearly nine of every 10 Filipinos, or 87 percent. And nearly seven of 10 (69 percent) support an impeachment trial.
“Support for impeachment may reflect both a demand for accountability and, for some groups, an opportunity for validation through due process,” says pollster OCTA Research.
?In the view of many, Sara has been a bad girl. More than 80 percent of the entire membership of the House of Representatives think so. At least 257 of them have voted to impeach her. Her alleged crimes: misuse or malversation of taxpayers’ money, bribery, plunder, unexplained wealth, betrayal of public trust and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos.
?More than 130 bishops of the powerful Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Church hierarchy, want the Senate to proceed with her trial in the name of accountability and in the name of justice – so that Sara can exonerate herself if she is innocent.
?A dozen business and civic organizations led by the Management Association of the Philippines (which has more than 1,000 CEOs as members) and the Makati Business Club (which has for its members, the owners of 80 percent of the country’s major businesses) have come out with a joint statement urging an impeachment trial forthwith and judgement rendered solely on “the basis of the Constitution, the law and the evidence.”
The groups reminded the Senate of its corresponding duty to try and decide an impeachment case, arguing that it is not a discretionary political choice but a constitutional obligation.
“Any refusal to convene the impeachment court, or any attempt to dismiss the case without hearing the evidence, will undermine the rule of law and weaken trust in the Senate as a key democratic institution,” they said.
“The legitimacy of democratic institutions rests on their consistent fidelity to constitutional mandates, especially under conditions of political pressure,” the statement read.
The groups stressed that the country’s economic stability, investment climate and long-term growth hinge on the credibility of its institutions and their consistent adherence to constitutional processes.
Warned the business elite: “When the rule of law appears subordinate to political interests, investor confidence and institutional credibility suffer.”
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