12/08/2026
๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ก | In-senate-ty
There are no words more accurate to describe how, for over a month, the Philippine senate looked less like a government body and more like a reality show full of drama, comedy, and thrills: NAKADIDISMAYA. NAKASASAWA. NAKAGAGALIT!
For long, we have been yearning for a political landscape that is peaceful, equitable, transparent, and stable. Yet, we are given another pain in the neck. From a surprise leadership coup triggered by an international fugitive, to a physical shooting inside its building, tearful breakdowns, walkouts over Zoom voting, and consecutive session boycotts, the Upper Chamber gave the Filipino public a front-row seat to a dizzying array of political theater that delayed the government body from getting anything done.
๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป
Barely seated as the new Senate President, Alan Peter Cayetano immediately inherited absolute chaos, thanks to Senator Bato dela Rosaโs surprise appearance on May 11, 2026 after 6 months of brazen absence. With whatever nerve dela Rosa has, the Senate was basically turned from a lawmaking body into a literal hiding spot within 72 hours for him, nearly allowing him to evade his International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant completely. Unfortunately, he was able to sneak out of the premises with Robin Padilla a day later, steering clear that staying safe and protecting their own group had become more important than actually running the country. They threaten the public to abide by the rules, but seem to lack the balls when it is them or their fellow power-trippers who should be called out and should be held accountable.
Following these spectacles was one mess after another, leaving the Senate being no longer a nest of principle, but a theater for politicians adept at acting. Senator Pia Cayetano throws tantrums during a session after a remark by Senator Risa Hontiveros about the Senate shooting, as if a single โKumusta ka, Pia?โ is all it takes to solve the current crisis. Letโs not kid ourselves, not everything revolves around your feelings. Senator Imee Marcos, on the other hand, presented a controversial โCharter changeโ video that she was forced to embarrassingly withdraw after being called out by her peers. Left me speechless. Lawmakers are elected to craft policy based on verified facts, not waste everyoneโs time playing unverified conspiracy theories on the floor. Fact-checking is a thing, you know.
Additionally, the then-Minority bloc staged a dramatic walkout over a remote participation and online voting proposal in the plenary session, leaving some of us feeling conflicted. It is frustrating to see them walking out, not standing there and doing their job we elected them for. It is like they did that just to make headlines. It is unsettling, too, as the fact that the dramatic stunt was forcibly pulled just for them to be heard makes us realize what is happening behind closed doors and how the system itself is not working like it is supposed to.
But, the most egregious? The legislative process was brought to a halt on June 1 and 2, when the majority senators simply refused to show up for work, boycotting sessions and denying quorum to protest the arrest of Jinggoy Estrada. For two straight days, work for the Filipino public was held hostage because these officials decided that playing truant was an acceptable tool to gain political power. Ironically, as the institution that is supposed to defend the nation gradually loses its dignity, it seems more Filipinos are more entertained than enraged. The Senate turned into a soap opera, the senators into memes. Everything that has happened rendered entertainment. Who knows, in the near future, even the sound of a bullet within the halls of power will become just a background noise to them.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
As of June 17, however, the decampment of Senator Joel Villanueva from the minority bloc to join the coalition pushing for a leadership change has secured the elusive and constitutionally mandated 13th-vote to formally elect Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President, ending the month-long leadership crisis. In turn, Cayetano conceded, his bloc, at long last, attended actual sessions after treating social media platforms as their offices, and the Supreme Court case challenging the initial June 3 shuffle is effectively moot.
Not only did it effectively resolve the constitutional deadlock over the chamberโs leadership, but it did fuel the institutional machinery just in time to face the historic upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. But as the dust settles and the committee chairmanships are handed out like peace offerings, we should not let the relief it brought blind us to the fact that the Philippine Senateโs reputation and integrity have just been degraded. Sure, they are moving again, and the sessions are back on track, but all that has happened proves that for all the talk about checks, balances, and constitutional duty, the highest legislative body in the land would rather pull a petty session boycott so life-changing it will take us forever to find its point. Exactly what a waste of time looks like. Now, if they had spent all that energy debating policy details and voting proposals into laws instead, then we could not have been left with stalled critical votes on citizenship, hospital detention laws, and barangay health worker aid.
Letโs be real here: with what Cayetano said on social media before he conceded, โthe arithmetic has changed, the constitution has notโ, the resolution wasnโt born out of a sudden burst of statesmanship or an awakening of conscienceโit was decided by an unyielding, unfeeling headcount. The moment Villanueva crossed the aisle to give Gatchalian his 13th vote, the Cayetano bloc realized its leverage had evaporated. The sudden pivot to grace and concession from Senators like Loren Legarda and Pia Cayetano, who said โthey have 13 votes, so itโs legal now,โ reveals that prior weeks of constitutional fretting were never about principleโthey were about power. Perhaps, it is not just a meme anymore. All this is a bitter reminder that just like how pro is the opposite of con, PROgress is the enemy of CONgressโor at least, in the upper house.
But then, who pays the price? For sure, it is not their political rivals who are defeated, but the regular people, the Filipinos, whose healthcare, rights, and livelihoods were put on ice while the people in power had fun in a hiding game.
๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ
While Malacaรฑang has expressed optimism that the Senate can return to passing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.โs priority bills, the leadership row, without a doubt, was settled because of the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte. Well, an impeachment court cannot function under a cloud of institutional illegitimacy.
Had Gatchalian attempted to preside over the Vice Presidentโs trial with a highly contested, shaky 12-vote majority, any eventual verdict may be weaponized by the other partyโs defense lawyers as unconstitutional. By securing a clean, indisputable majority, the Senate has insulated itself from procedural vulnerability, and has built a more impartial setting.
However, looking at the newly reorganized roster, itโs clear that strategic power plays are still being made. Senator Francis Escudero, who briefly acted as the kingmaker by attending the June 3 session to break the initial boycott, has been pointedly stripped of committee memberships due to an ongoing flood control kickback probe. Meanwhile, the Blue Ribbon Committee has been handed to Senator Erwin Tulfo, ensuring that the chamberโs investigative teeth will remain sharp and aligned with the current political tide.
๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป
โThis is not just the majority. This is a Senate composed of 24 senatorsโ.
This statement of Senate President Gatchalian from his acceptance speech is a nice sentiment, but words will not easily erase the images of the past month. The public watched senators protect an ICC wanted, weaponize quorums by refusing to show up for work, and treat committee hearings like personal monopolies to air unverified videos and political grievances.
Gatchialianโs bloc has successfully saved the Senate from a constitutional dead-end, and for that, the country can breathe a temporary sigh of relief. But as the chamber prepares to transform into an impeachment court under the eyes of a widely divided nation, the new leadership should realize that stability is not the same as respect.
Rules should be tightened for senators who abuse quorum, and boycott sessions, as public service is a duty, not an optional work shift. Its premises should not be, again, weaponized to shelter fugitives dodging arrest, as parliamentary courtesy is not supposed to cover obstruction of justice. Talking about ethics, strict decorum should be at the top, ensuring that verified facts, not personal tantrums or unverified internet videos, dictate floor discussions.
The arithmetic may have changed, but the burden of proving that the Senate is still worthy of the peopleโs trust has only just begun. Real stability will not come from a 13-vote headcount or strategic committee distribution. It will come when the electorate stops accepting political theatrics in exchange for governance, demanding instead a Senate that remembers its purpose. To serve the nation, not itself.
๐๏ธ Jhon Carl Tiongco
๐จ Hector Santiago
๐ป Nathanael Dela Cruz
