Destabilizing the Senate: Manny Villar and the controversial C-5 Senate report

“We are not angels! What are we in power for? When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, he made the distinction between a good crook and the bad crooks. We can prepare to be good crooks"

Did'nt you notice? All our departments are being weakened considerably and this is not a very good sign of a healthy democracy. I'll call my friend George Soros and report this. This is insanity. This is plain and simple disservice to the toiling Filipino masses.

We have a president, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who can't seem to shake off the wanderlust of power. Four presidentiables have asked her not to tempt fate by appointing her candidate for the Chief Justice post and should stay her hand on the selection of the next AFP Chief of Staff and just extend the incumbent's stay in office. These issues affect the workings of Justice and of State Power.

And now this.

Gone were those times when Senators respect the very institution they have sworn to protect with their lives. Gone were the days when Senators respect the judgment of their peers.

I once interviewed former Senate President Jovito Salonga. He said that the Senate chamber in the 50's and 60's were composed of luminaries who were gentlemen at the same time. There were civility. Most importantly, there were respect among peers.

Senator Manny Villar is not the only one censured by the Senate. There were many others before him who violated the basic laws of the land and were censured, even expelled by the chamber.

Yet, he is the only one afraid of presenting himself before the very chamber that accused him of impropriety. All the others debated themselves to the very last, which just showed you how beautiful democracy is. Reason dictates that if you are being accused of the body which has jurisdiction over you, you will definitely defend yourself to the death. We are talking about integrity here. We are talking about honor, not politics.

The Senate as a revered institution and one of the pillars of our democracy, rests on its credibility to exists. Politics is a minority issue here.

How would the people respect this institution of fine gentlemen if one or at least nine of them do not respect it? How would this impact on the workings of democracy?

The legitimacy of the Senate ends when the people loses trust on the institution.

How would the Senate be able to enforce the full length of its powers if some of its members continue making a big mockery out of its rules?

How would the Senate stand before the other departments of government and confidently say that it is the most credible and enjoy the same powers as the others exercise?

If the Senate cannot enforce its rules, if its hands are tied because of the actions of one of its members and if its very credibility is at stake here, this a sign of weakness, of being a toothless and useless department of government.

Imagine, a billionaire taunting a former implementor of martial law, a man whom many respected and feared at the same time.

Now, the tables have been turned---the billionaire acting in a contemptuous manner, like a dictator and a manipulator of the highest of stakes, while the former showing and trying to defend the democracy of the institution he leads in the finest example. The beneficiary of democracy is acting like a spoiled brat while the former promoter of a dictatorial regime defending and acting like a true-blue democrat.

This is more than just politics. This continued mockery of Senator Villar and his allies on the very rules of the very institution they swore to be members of, is a direct affront to the power of the Senate.

This is a mutiny, a destabilizing act being committed by the very same ones expected to protect the institution.
--Senator Jose Avelino