We beg to differ.
In his recent Inquirer piece “A tale of two chambers” Manuel L. Quezon III questions the assiduousness of the present Senate. It’s a praise piece for Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian, the now renowned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) crusaders, as they have styled themselves, even if their committees which conduct the “hearings” have…
What did we learn from the extra-judicial ouster of an elected president? The 1987 Constitution? Our generation was fooled into believing that the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was evil and the late former President Cory Aquino who seized power from him in 1986 was a saint. We were naive then but for those…
Yes, the Mahatma Gandhi did it. But then he was the Mahatma. Will the stunt currently being undertaken by SMNI anchors Lorraine Badoy and Eric Celiz deliver the same public indignation that launched the revolution of the sort that transpired in India that is credited to Gandhi? Very likely not. Will it move those who…
The Philippine Senate is a political institution that was created during the American occupation years. Also called “the upper house”, the Senate is a legislative body that can be traced back to the Philippine Commission, which was created to assist the Americans in administering government powers in the Philippines. According to the 1987 Constitution, the…
Read More “The Senate: a political institution that lost its luster” »
One of the items on Rodrigo Duterte’s platform of government in 2016 was federalism. This has remained unfulfilled largely due to the Senate being the stumbling block to constitutional amendments. The 1987 Constitution doesn’t state explicitly of both houses of Congress voting as one or both, with a 3/4 majority is required to deem an…
Former Ambassador and Manila Times columnist writes in his piece “For the funds of it” today about “one of the main reasons – other than megalomania – why so many seem to want to run for Philippine electoral posts, even for national posts.” For the most part, Tiglao points out, “It’s an income-generating project.” The…
Someone please remind boxer-turned-senator Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao that politics is addition. PDP-Laban executive director Ron Munsayac’s claim that there are 100,000 card-carrying members of the PDP-Laban may be true for now. But these hundred thousand will not side in their favor for the simple reason the power and the money are still with the administration….
Read More “Manny Pacquiao at loggerheads with PDP-Laban leadership over 2022 bid” »
Harry Roque’s law partner Joel Ruiz Butuyan complains about the quality of Senators but doesn’t put the finer on who should be blamed. Butuyan writes in his Inquirer column “Comparing past and present senators” today of “the faces of senators of the past renowned for their brilliance, juxtaposed with pictures of senators of the present…