Deals and quid pro quos are nothing new in Philippine politics. Nevertheless, members of the House of Representatives are taking horse-trading to a new level.
Both Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez have claimed lawmakers are being offered bribes to secure their votes in the race for Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Alvarez in May said that someone offered P500,000 to every lawmaker and that this was countered by the camp of another congressman with an offer of P1 million, a claim that Cayetano confirmed in a recent ABS-CBN interview.
That the Speakership is for sale is alarming. But wait, there’s more, and it gets worse.
The House is tasked to pass legislation that affects the entire country. It is the prime mover of public policy. And yet, it is obvious that the frontrunners for Speakership are more focused on obtaining the “blessing” of President Duterte than tackling the important issues that the country is facing.
The choice of Speaker is not being made from the standpoint of upholding shared principles and values, not on whether the candidate is perceived as being honest and trustworthy and a good leader, not for demonstrating that he cares for the national agenda and the Filipino people, but only whether he is a man of Malacañang.
Cayetano, much like a small-minded, crafty salesman, openly talks about a term-sharing agreement for Speaker with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, and even criticizes the latter for backing out of the agreement that he claims was suggested by no less than the President.
“It is for this reason that I am deeply disappointed that after we both expressed full agreement with the President’s proposal, Rep. Velasco and his wife are now making a turnaround and won’t honor the President’s wishes,” Cayetano said.
“I want to reiterate that I am committed to support and follow the President as he, in many occasions, mentioned term sharing between myself and Congressman Velasco. I trust and respect the President’s wisdom,” he added. “The term-sharing scheme has been proposed as a ‘win-win solution’ to resolve the Speakership issue. I am willing to abide by the recommendation of the President.”
Win-win for whom exactly? Are the Filipino people even included in his equation? Cayetano did not care to elaborate. Meanwhile, other congressmen have also been openly urging Duterte to give his final blessing to a new Speaker.
Indeed, these so-called honorable members of the House are not even couching their conversations in language that hide the transactional nature of their agreements, to at least make it appear that their deals are intrinsically motivated by public interest or to maintain the legitimacy of Congress as an independent and coequal branch of the government.
Shame, shame, shame!
This is exactly the kind of perverted patronage relationship between the President and Congress that subverts the separation of powers, the checks and balances provided by our Constitution, which is supposed to counter government abuses. No wonder toilet paper references are being made about it!
The House is not only expected to pass laws but use its committees for the oversight of the Executive branch. The Constitution even empowers the House to impeach the President for treason, bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes, and empowers the Senate to try such impeachment.
But can the House be expected to temper the excesses of the Executive given this insidious kind of insider dealing for the Speakership going on? Can it pursue most vigorously the will of the Filipino people when its members clearly demonstrate deleterious propensities that have much more to do with personal interest and profit, and inter and intra-party conflicts rather than with ensuring Congressional responsibility for the public good?
Indeed, we are doomed to get the government we deserve, that is, until we learn to vote wisely. But when will we ever learn?
Image credits: JImbo Albano