Two brave women and ten lucky men

Here in Mexico, while drinking strong coffee and smoking Cuban cigars after meeting local politicians, businessmen, and lawyers, we are discussing the Senate.

The Philippine Senate, which used to be the chamber where future presidents were trained, and where the booming voices of Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Tañada, and Jose W. Diokno rang with unquestionable eloquence and erudition, is now the house of senators Robin Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid, and Raffy Tulfo.

Well, Recto or not, we need to respect them, call them honorable, pay them huge salaries and allowances because they were elected by Filipinos who believe the nation's deliverance should be entrusted to comedians, action stars, and TV hosts. The Filipinos rejected Gibo Teodoro, a brilliant Bar topnotcher and Dick Gordon, a parliamentarian par excellence, and even denied a former vice president.

The new Senate has four reelected senators, Win Gatchalian, Juan Miguel Zubiri (incoming Senate president), Joel Villanueva, and Risa Hontiveros. They will be joined by five former senators: Loren Legarda, who just completed her term as representative of the lone district of Antique; Francis Escudero, who ended his term as Sorsogon governor with an auspicious grand salute by the Bulusan eruption; Alan Peter Cayetano, who ended his term as representative of Taguig, Pateros, and as former speaker of the House, whose term claimed as one of its grand achievements the historic denial of franchise renewal of ABS-CBN. And of course the two half-brothers from San Juan, JV and Jinggoy, one of whom is the good one.

The Senate where great Cebuano senators like Don Vicente and Filemon Sotto, Don Manuel Briones, Don Mariano Jesus Cuenco, and Chief Justice Marcelo B. Fernan is now the office of mother and son senators Cynthia and Mark, siblings senators Alan and Pia, and half-brothers, JV and Jinggoy. This is democracy, and in this country, a Bar topnotcher like Gibo Teodoro (who topped in 1989 with the Golden Dean's Medal for Academic Excellence from UP) is rejected in favor of actors and comedians. This is the nation where a brilliant lawyer, Dick Gordon, a crusader against graft, is rejected by the sovereign people in favor of jesters and action stars, courtesy of the election results computed by counting machines.

The four reelected and the five comebacking solons will be joined by three eager beaver neophytes who outvoted the veterans. They are led by 2022 senatorial election topnotcher, Robin Padilla, incoming chairman of Constitutional Amendments, entrusted by Senate president Migz Zubiri the monumental mission to tinker with the fundamental law of the land. God bless the Philippines. Then, Raffy Tulfo, now the greatest of the five famous Tulfo brothers whose other brother is a partylist representative, and the other is DSWD secretary. Their sister, Wanda was, of course, the wonder girl of tourism under President Duterte and we know the rest of the story. Raffy will come back to the Senate where the Tulfos were summoned as resource persons by the senate Blue Ribbon in connection with Wanda's wonders in tourism.

And of course, the silent one, Mark, who claims credit for “Build, build, build”, the so-called hardworking son of an incumbent senator and a father who could have been a better president than PNoy. These two brave women, Loren and Risa plus the ten lucky men will join incumbent senators Cynthia Villar, ex-future Senate president; Juan Edgardo Angara, son of former Senate president Ed Angara; Nancy Binay, who could have been joined by his dad, former vice president Jejomar; Pia, happy with younger bro, Alan joining her again; Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a senator courtesy of President Duterte, ditto with Christopher “Bong” Go; Lito Lapid, the Leon Guerrero from Porac, Pampanga; Imee Marcos, sister of you-know-who; Koko Pimentel, Bar topnotcher, former Senate president and looming minority leader; Bong Revilla, who can dance and sing well; Francis Tolentino, who also won with the presidential blessings in 2019.

Well, this is democracy. The Senate is now purely a family affair, an ABS-CBN telenovela, starring Gerald Anderson and Sam Milby, brothers in the drama. If this drama does well, Gerald and Sam may join Cardo Dalisay and Piolo Pascual as our next candidates for senators in 2025. A family affair, indeed, where mom Cynthia is sitting with the silent son Mark, where the good one JV sits behind his Kuya Jinggoy, and siblings Pia and Alan Peter are representing the tiny constituency of Taguig. Wow.

This is a funny country. With a coming food shortage and oil crisis, with the peso diving to unprecedented depths, and oil rising to unchartered heights, we have elected entertainers to amend our Constitution and solve the social cancers of this great nation. Iba talaga ang Pinoy, mahirap espilingin.