The Tainted Reputation of the Philippine Senate
The tainted reputation of the Philippine Senate is so serious an issue as to require a major political surgery. The filing of the appropriate and non-bailable plunder case against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., although a good sign of relief on the part of the Filipino people, is not enough remedy to assuage the insult and abuse that our masses have felt with the uncovering of the Napoles pork-barrel scam. We are poor--our government is poor. And corruption in government is the main cause of it all. For even our highest lawmakers have themselves turned into law-breakers. They have become so corrupt that they couldn’t feel any qualm of conscience at all. Instead, they are telling the country of their planned candidacy for the coming elections. Adding insult to injury, they are even so confident that they can deceive the Filipino electorates—once more!
This case of plunder filed against Senators Enrile, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada is unprecedented in the history of the Philippine Senate. And it is just the tip of the iceberg. If proven in court, the Philippine government can be likened to a human body having cancer and other serious infections right in the head--in the brain.
Thus, the tainted reputation of the Philippine Senate is so serious that it requires some form of cleansing or political surgery if you may. It is indeed good news that some of our Senators are proposing a form of disciplinary action like expulsion from office of erring comrades. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senator Teofisto Guingona III, had also recommended the filing of plunder charges against Enrile, Bong and Jinggoy. But it is not enough. There must be a law that will bar a plunder-convicted politician from seeking a political office. The case of ex-President and now Mayor Erap Estrada who was convicted with plunder is a vivid portrayal on how our law on plunder can become toothless versus the mandate of our non-issues-oriented and less-schooled majority.
The law on plunder was one of the best laws ever conceived and written by our leaders. What we need in this country is more brave leaders like Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and a President like Noynoy Aquino who have deep respect for the law.
The best remedy in order to right the tainted reputation of the Philippine Senate is the Senate itself, the political will of our government to guard our people’s money and to jail corrupt politicians, and most importantly, we the Filipinos during election day.
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