Getting out of Senate fix

The confrontation in last Monday’s session between senior Senator Juan "Johnny" Ponce-Enrile and neophyte Senator Jamby Madrigal was not something out of the ordinary in the history of the Philippine Senate.

The Senate is not the place for the weak-hearted. A Senator is not called "independent Republic" for nothing if he or she does not have the heart and guts to stand for what he or she believes in.

"Malakas kasi ang dating n’ya, mahina naman pala siya!" quipped a fellow neophyte Senator on Jamby’s tearful breakdown after she locked horns with the much wiser veteran Senator Enrile. "Matagal na siyang namumuro kay Manong Johnny," the same Senator added. The law of averages have caught up with Jamby when Senator Enrile finally unleashed his notorious sharp barbs at her at the Senate floor and the lady Senator was reduced to tears.

The long-standing, deep-seated hatred against each other erupted out in the open when the Opposition lady Senator stood up in a privilege speech last week to denounce President Arroyo’s Proclamation 1017 as nothing but another martial law edict of Marcosian vintage. Enrile, who served as Defense Minister during the regime of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, would have glossed over this had not Jamby drew the first blood by making a swipe at him over "faking" an ambush on his life in 1972 to justify the imposition of martial law in the country.

Jamby’s refusal to allow Enrile to interpellate her infuriated the latter who sternly reminded his much younger lady colleague she should not be a "purveyor of falsehood" in their august chamber. And the last straw was when Jamby stood up again at the floor last Monday to ask that these specific remarks on her by Enrile be striken off from the Senate record. This further riled up Senator Enrile who threw rhetorical questions to Jamby – "weren’t the Madrigals ‘partying’ with the Marcoses at Malacañang Palace during that supposedly much hated regime?"

It cannot be denied. Equally outspoken Ilocos Norte Congresswoman Imee Marcos entered into the fray and confirmed Enrile’s tirades that indeed the Madrigals were often seen at the Palace meeting with her late father and that Jamby’s mother was even in the "Blue Ladies" circle of former First Lady, Imelda Marcos.

As of yesterday, efforts by their colleagues to convince the two feuding Senators to kiss-and-make-up proved futile. "It’s too late in the day. I’ve tolerated her for too long," Enrile admitted his extreme displeasure on Jamby. On the other hand, Jamby disclosed she tried to reconcile with Enrile last December and gave him Christmas gift but it was returned to her by the Senator.

Before their differences could be patched up, Enrile raised the stakes by digging up anew the election rigging charges against Jamby who was among the politicians implicated in the infamous "Hello Garci" wiretapping tapes which contained voices of people, including the alleged voice of President Arroyo, discussing about the May 10, 2004 election results.

Enrile readily admitted he was among those who called up former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano to check about election results in his case. He dropped a bombshell yesterday that he has "personal knowledge" overhearing Jamby in a cell phone conversation talking something about paying off money to ensure getting her into the "magic 12" during the Senate elections. To Enrile's charges, Jamby snapped: "Look who’s talking?"

The debate between the two Senators has gone beyond personal attacks. Their emotional outbursts ended the sessions earlier than usual at the Senate. Ironically, the debate on martial law at the Senate was limited between both Jamby and Enrile whose connections to the Marcoses are established facts in history. The martial law victims at the Senate like Senator Joker Arroyo and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. kept their peace.

In yesterday’s Tuesday Club at the EDSA Shangri-La, we ribbed Senators Alfredo Lim and Lito Lapid about this soap drama in the Upper Chamber. While Senators Lim and Lapid belong to opposite parties, they are not taking sides on this grudge fight of their two feuding colleagues. Lim, from the opposition Partido ng Masang Pilipino, and Lapid, from the ruling Lakas administration party, would rather talk about the political landscape developing in the country.

Lapid came in dapper gray suit clean-shaven and without his signature moustache. Lapid disclosed this is because he is currently doing the movie "Ang Probinsiyano, Ikatlong Yugto," the two previous episodes of which were previously starred in by the late action star and presidential candidate, Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ). For this movie, Lapid trains to perfect the famous "rapid punch" of FPJ.

Lapid says he talked to and got the permission of Poe’s widow, actress Susan Roces to do a third episode of her late husband’s movie about a policeman from Kalinga-Apayao who joins the police force in the city. I asked Lapid if he similarly sought the permission of President Arroyo out of courtesy to their Lakas leader, Lapid replied he did not, adding, "Hindi naman ito politika. Pelikula ito kaya kay Manay Susan ako nagpa-alam."

The 50-year old actor-turned politician, who hails from President Arroyo’s home province of Pampanga, ran and won under her ticket in the May 2004 elections, cited "Walang Lapid kung walang FPJ." He pointed to the fact that his uncle, the late action star, Jess Lapid Sr. acted as stuntman or doubled for FPJ as well as the late FPJ Sr. The young Lapid recalled with sadness he was merely two years old when his father, who starred in several kiss-kiss, bang-bang spaghetti western movies, died of liver ailment.

Aside from this new movie, Lapid says he already completed earlier another movie, "Agilang Bundok" which is about illegal logging where the Senator-actor played the role of a forest ranger. Lapid admits he feels out of place at the Senate and aches the executive actions he used to do as former Governor of Pampanga for three terms. But he can no longer go back to his province which is now headed by son Gov. Mark Lapid. He was teased about his setting moist eyes to run next year in the race for mayoralty in Quezon City, but to which he merely gave a "Mona Lisa" smile.

Sen. Lapid is obviously not at ease in the Upper Chamber, though he is with fellow actors-turned Senators Ramon "Bong" Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. Given the kind of culture shock he is getting at the Senate, I cannot fault Lapid for looking a way out of it.

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