Looking past the disgrace

WHAT a shame that a supposed veteran statesman such as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has dragged the ongoing controversy in the Senate into a disgraceful brouhaha by launching a personal attack on the Cayetano family, which has three members who have previously or currently serving the legislative body.

It’s a disgrace because the root of the matter is not about the family nor personal conflicts. The controversy per se – the use and distribution of public funds in the Senate and the power of the Senate leader over these – is a legitimate matter as it raises the question of transparency and accountability, two indispensable factors in the Tuwid na Landas kind of governance that the present administration is supposedly pursuing.

But for all the shameful verbal hostilities that are being exchanged in the august halls of the Senate, what is happening actually augurs well for good governance – a situation that our local legislative bodies should emulate at all times.

The sanggunians – the provincial, city, and municipal levels – must never disregard transparency and accountability in their work as lawmakers and in their role to provide check-and-balance to the executive branch of the local government.

In Pangasinan, not a few legislative bodies are reportedly functioning as a mere rubber stamp of the executive.

The sanggunian, staying true to its mandate as laid out in the Constitution and the Local Government Code, must maintain independence and remember that their answerability is to the public that voted them in office.

The responsibility of board members and councilors does not stop with ordinances and resolutions. They must pursue no holds-barred exposés of goings-on in the chamber that do not make the institution responsive to the people who trusted in them.

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Getting old

JUAN Ponce Enrile did no “masterstroke” when he made a motion to declare the post of Senate President vacant. Nothing extraordinary there. His move created impact only because we’ve been accustomed to not seeing the everyday thing. Look, when there is doubt as to your abilities as a leader, isn’t it right that you leave and offer your position to anyone willing and able to do the job?

Where is the outstanding part in Enrile’s act? If you feel you are being unwanted, then, by all means, depart. Look for the nearest exit. That’s what Enrile did, or tried to do — hurriedly say goodbye to his post as Senate President. When no one budged, he asked for a vote of confidence. Only 3 of the 23 senators voted against him, with 2 (Marcos and Arroyo) abstaining.

In fact, even if Enrile resigns now, irrevocably, nothing heroic there, too. At 88 and turning 89 next month, no one would give a hoot. Everybody would even applaud — getting old being an extraordinary achievement.

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