Hypocrisy in the front seat

Many are saying the tit-for-tat between senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor Santiago on the Senate floor brought shame to the chamber in particular, and the country in general. How did they know? Because they were the very same people who glued their eyes to the tv set when it happened, that's why!

What hypocrites! All those who are now crying shame could not have been so ignorant as to not expect Enrile would be barbecuing Santiago in his privilege speech, and for Santiago to be doing the same with even more vitriol when her turn came.

Yet, given their full knowledge of what to expect, none of these people ever tried to discourage the shameful discourses from happening. Nobody ever tried to talk sense into either senator that what they were about to do would drag the Senate to its lowest depths.

On the contrary, the hypocrites eagerly anticipated the exchange. Nobody preferred to shun the tv and wait instead for the evening news or the papers the following day. Every one of these godforsaken hypocrites calendared the speeches.

The speech of Enrile paled in comparison to Santiago's only because he is not known for decibels and theatrics. If not perhaps for the content of his speeches, Enrile would be a very boring speaker. Also, as the first to throw the gauntlet, his was like the matinee to Santiago's gala -- cheaper seats, sparser audience.

By the time Santiago swung around, a few minutes late for effect, the gallery was packed. The sheer number of Law students present alone, many of them invited by Santiago herself and who acknowledged their presence one by one live on tv, turned the unfolding spectacle into a seeming Ateneo-La Salle ballgame.

Those who watched on tv were millions. And if they can be identified and asked one by one, and then be honest with their answers, I bet they would say they were watching because they expected fireworks to explode once Santiago steps up the podium.

And now these people would say that the alternating spectacles brought shame to the Senate and the country? What hypocrites! Why did they watch in the first place if they knew they were about to be scandalized and demeaned!

The truth is, they watched because they knew they would love to see a good fight. They knew what Santiago was capable of. They knew she was going to deliver. They knew she was not going to disappoint. That is the reason why so many people knew how shameful it was. Because they watched.

A person who finds rape repulsive and criminal would not have the stomach to stay and watch. Either he leaves to call the police or he intervenes. Either way, he does something. But nobody did anything as Santiago delivered her spiel. Everyone was in rapt attention. Everyone was glued to his seat.

And now they would cry for shame after the fact? Give me a break. So, was the Enrile-Santiago exchange shameful and disgusting? It was. Without the slightest doubt it was. But for crying out loud why complain when everyone had been part and parcel of the whole sordid episode.

Look, right after Santiago finished, the Senate went on with its usual business and even passed the very vital budget needed for the rehabilitation of areas ravaged by supertyphoon Yolanda. But did any of the networks cover this portion of the Senate sessions live? Not on your life. The media left with Santiago.

After announcing for days their intention to cover live the Enrile-Santiago exchange, and then leaving when it was over and not bothering to cover the more "honorable" acts of the Senate, the media as well lost every right to criticize the shamefulness of the exchange. For they were part of it from beginning to end.

So let us all stop this breast-beating about how shameful the episode was. Let all the senators who now want to expunge from the records the bad words they heard cease the grandstanding and the hypocrisy. If they were so scandalized, why did they not even have the decency to walk out?