04/07/2025
SAY CHEESE! 🧀
OPINION: I THOUGHT ROBIN AND BATO WERE THE WORST SENATORS. THEN CHIZ HAPPENED.
I used to believe Robin Padilla and Bato dela Rosa were already the worst senators this country could possibly produce.
A former action star who misquotes the Constitution and a retired police chief still stuck in war mode—that felt like rock bottom.
Turns out I was wrong.
Because now we have Chiz Escudero. Polished. Experienced. Calculated.
And completely capable of bending the Constitution with surgical precision—while making it look like everything is above board.
At least with Robin and Bato, you can see the incompetence coming from a mile away.
With Chiz, it’s cloaked in legalese, hidden behind a podium and delivered in perfect diction.
That’s a different level of danger.
■ ROBIN PADILLA: THE SHOWBIZ SENATOR
Robin means well. That’s the problem.
Good intentions don’t mean much when you’re in a position of power and don’t know what you’re doing.
His infamous comment during a Senate hearing—suggesting that husbands have “sexual rights” over their wives—wasn’t just a tone-deaf blunder.
It was an admission of ignorance, dressed up in misplaced religious conviction.
When you start using the Bible to justify your stance on marital r**e, you’re not leading. You’re exposing how unqualified you are.
He insists on using Filipino during Senate hearings.
That’s fine in theory, but the problem is not the language—it’s that he barely understands the policy issues he’s discussing.
His bills read like the wish list of someone with vague ideas and no grasp of governance.
Sure, he passed a few measures like the Muslim Burial Rights Act.
But overall, he’s become more known for viral soundbites than meaningful legislation.
■ BATO DELA ROSA: MUSCLE WITHOUT THOUGHT
Bato has never hidden who he is: a loyal enforcer of Duterte’s legacy, unapologetic about the blood spilled under his watch.
He’s still pushing for the death penalty.
Still parroting the same war-on-drugs playbook.
Still acting like criticism is a sign of weakness.
When asked why he refused to attend hearings on extrajudicial killings, he dismissed critics as “brats” who hadn’t “stared death in the eye.”
This, from a man whose former boss admitted to leading death squads—and who now faces international charges for crimes against humanity.
Bato’s entire Senate career is built on defiance and bravado.
And while it’s terrifying, at least it’s predictable.
What you see is what you get.
Unfortunately, what we got was violence dressed as patriotism.
■ CHIZ ESCUDERO: WEAPONIZED INTELLIGENCE
Chiz is a different story. This is where things get more sinister.
When the House transmitted the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, the Constitution was clear:
the Senate “shall forthwith proceed” with the trial. That’s not a casual phrase. It’s a direct instruction.
Instead, Chiz delayed the proceedings.
First moved the schedule.
Then helped lead a vote to send the articles back to the House.
All while insisting he was simply following procedure.
Legal experts across the board—constitutional scholars, former justices, professors—have said what he did was unconstitutional.
But Chiz kept talking circles around the issue, pointing to “precedent” and “rules,” as if those somehow override the actual Constitution.
This isn’t ignorance.
This is intent.
He knows the rules.
He’s using them to stall accountability.
And we’ve seen this before.
We saw it with Duterte, who used legal ambiguity and public fear to push authoritarian policies.
We saw it with Calida, who twisted the law until it fit the administration’s interests.
They weren’t incompetent.
They were precise.
Chiz is cut from the same cloth.
■ WHAT’S WORSE THAN INCOMPETENCE? MANIPULATION.
Robin fumbles his way through hearings. Bato barks slogans and threats.
But Chiz?
He undermines institutions quietly, professionally, and with a lawyer’s poker face.
He’s doing long-term damage—convincing people that constitutional obligations can be waived if you make the delay look procedural enough.
That political alliances matter more than rule of law.
That justice can wait.
This isn’t leadership. It’s erosion.
And the public barely notices because it’s wrapped in charm and good grooming.
■ THE BAR ISN’T LOW ANYMORE. IT’S GONE.
We’re not just ranking bad senators now—we’re being forced to choose our flavor of failure.
Is it the one who doesn’t know better?
The one who doesn’t care?
Or the one who knows better and still chooses to act in bad faith?
Robin is the cautionary tale of why popularity shouldn’t win elections.
Bato is what happens when fear is rewarded.
But Chiz?
Chiz proves that even intelligence can be dangerous when divorced from principle.
This isn't just about three names in the Senate.
This is about a political system that keeps teaching us to expect less.
And when we do expect more, we get played by someone who looks the part but walks us off a cliff.
We used to think the bar was low.
Now, it’s buried.
And somehow, they’re still digging.
Sources:
Philippine News Agency
GMA Network
Philippine Star
News5
Manila Bulletin
Wikipedia (Robin Padilla, Ronald dela Rosa, Chiz Escudero)
Senate of the Philippines
Inquirer Opinion
Mindanews
SCMP
UP Law Faculty Open Letter
YouTube: Chiz Escudero's official statements and interviews
