It’s been a grueling and exhausting two weeks just watching events unfold grotesquely at the Senate. It’s as if we’re watching a poorly produced and badly directed political drama series starring actors and actresses who can’t act at all. The only consolation, really, is the hilarious memes that have sprouted on social media mocking the events that transpired.
“Senate Wala ng Wakas,” a play on the ABS-CBN teleserye Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas, went viral after Sen. Pia Cayetano raised emotional decibel levels in front of TV cameras in an outburst that outranked parliamentary finesse. The meme made me laugh, perhaps the only bright spot in this zarzuela of a week at what was once an esteemed chamber.
The Bible-quoting Sen. Joel Villanueva dished out his own lines, seemingly straight out of a war movie: “I still recall the gunshots, the smell of gunpowder.” In case he doesn’t know, his lines gave birth to their own memes.
And then there’s the on-screen and off-screen bad boy, the moustache-combing Sen. Robin Padilla, who initially ran out of answers when asked if he helped Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa escape that fateful morning of May 14.
But after CCTV footage confirmed it, Padilla finally admitted that he helped Dela Rosa exit the Senate premises, saying there was nothing illegal about it, even though days before, he did not have the balls to say that when interviewed on TV.
Whew.
As I said, it’s been a tiring week just listening to our lawmakers live and breathe toxic politics.
The memes may have provided momentary laughter but the joke is really on us.
Sadly, it is what it is. Some of our senators have been caught lying, stealing and yes, aiding and abetting injustice in this nation of 115 million.
Exhibit A: Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the chief architect of Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. He is now officially a fugitive whose game plan probably involves lying low and staying in hiding until 2028 when he hopes that Sara Duterte will become president and save him from the International Criminal Court.
For all that bravado and talk of facing the ICC and joining his boss at The Hague, Dela Rosa, in the end, has chosen to go back into hiding.
But as my fellow Op-Ed columnist Jarius Bondoc said, Bato’s office must be shut down and he and his staff – including 10 relatives – must go on leave without pay. The senator, who has a monthly salary of around P300,000, had been absent for six months.
The Senate leadership must finally decide on this because the chamber is accountable to the people.
Taxpayers’ money cannot continue funding Dela Rosa’s office if he is no longer working.
Get back to work
More importantly, the Senate must finally get back to work.
The toxic politics has resulted in a reshuffle of committee leaderships at the expense of the Filipino people.
A former finance undersecretary, for instance, lamented the sudden change in leadership of the Senate finance committee, saying that the 2026 budget – or any budget measure for that matter – is difficult to analyze and scrutinize, yet all the effort of the past leadership under Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian will now go to waste.
And remember how that Senate coup cancelled what was supposed to be a Senate hearing with some of the country’s farmers who are in dire need of help?
In just two weeks, some of our current crop of senators showed us their priority – themselves, their politics and loyalty to their allies.
The chamber has unraveled into the political theater that it is – from lawmaking to lawbreaking, and the descent has been swift and shameless.
Permanent ban
Aside from Senate Wala ng Wakas, another hot topic over the past couple of days involves the permanent ban of Lucas Lorenzo, son of businessman Martin Lorenzo, from tycoon Enrique Razon’s The Country Club in Laguna.
“Please be informed that effective immediately, Mr. Lucas Lorenzo has been permanently banned from The Country Club,” management said in a letter to members.
This follows an incident during the Manila Polo Club tournament where Lorenzo “displayed conduct entirely unbecoming of a guest of our club,” the TCC said.
An insider said Lorenzo got frustrated and kicked the windshield of a golf cart.
“The Country Club holds its members and their guests to the highest standards of sportsmanship, decorum and mutual respect. Because this behavior directly violates our community values, the Board has banned him from the clubhouse and grounds.”
He also cannot be invited or sponsored as a guest by any member.
Lorenzo apologized for the incident, which he said happened during “a highly competitive round where he was playing in the same flight as his brother.”
“Emotions unfortunately got the better of me after I felt distracted on my approach shot on the second-to-last hole, which led to a double bogey. In the heat of the moment, my actions caused a few scratches on the windshield of the cart. I deeply regret allowing my emotions and competitive nature to get the better of me and I fully acknowledge that I should have handled the situation better,” he said in a statement. (Inquirer Golf).
He has sent written apologies to both The Country Club and Manila Polo Club. He also said he takes full responsibility for what happened.
Imagine that. A country club is more capable of enforcing accountability and good behavior than our Senate.
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Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.