EDITORIAL — Small-minded

Last week, Vicente Sotto III turned over the office of the Senate president to his successor Sherwin Gatchalian, with nearly everything intact.

The move belied Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s claim that it is “standard practice” for a senator to strip bare his office, from floor tiles to wall paneling and toilet fixtures, before turning it over to the successor.

Estrada, suspended by the Sandiganbayan for another 90 days in connection with his latest plunder indictment, had described it as standard practice for a senator to take everything in the office with him, including doors and electrical sockets.

He also said he had refurbished the office of the Senate president pro tempore out of his own pocket and that stripping it bare for his successor, Sotto, was done at no cost to the public.

Gatchalian and Sen. Panfilo Lacson quickly stressed that this was no standard practice. Lacson also posted photos showing that in 2022 when he ended his stint as Senate president pro tempore, he did not strip the office bare before turning it over to his successor. 

People also pointed out that refurbishing the bare office would entail expenses, both from public coffers and the personal funds of the senator taking over the office.

It’s unclear where all the materials and furnishings in the office were taken by Estrada, who remains detained without bail at the Quezon City jail. The Senate is renting part of the building owned by the Government Service Insurance System. Were even the floor tiles, wall paneling, ceilings, toilet fixtures and doors in the office paid for by Estrada? Dismantled floor tiles tend to be brittle for reuse.

In the case of the office of the Senate president, Gatchalian was happy to note that his predecessor Sotto left the office clean and fully furnished, with even Sotto’s personal chair and sofa left behind. This allowed Gatchalian to move in immediately, truly at no cost to the public.

If only out of collegial courtesy, this should be the standard practice. But collegial courtesy flew out the Senate window some time ago.

The dismaying episode is yet another illustration of the depths to which the Senate has fallen. The chamber has descended into petulant pettiness, with taxpayers shouldering the cost of lawmakers’ small-mindedness.