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SO you think Filipino Time sucks?
Well, wait till you hear about Senate Time.
The Senate session is supposed to start at 3
p.m. but usually, it gets going only at about 4 p.m. There are early
birds like Ping Lacson and Kiko Pangilinan, but majority of the
senators are oblivious of the time.
When a senator asks for “one-minute”
suspension of the session, he is not referring to the “one
minute” known to us ordinary mortals. A “one minute” in the
Senate could be anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Perhaps, the
senators would be more accurate if they say “session suspended for
one Senate minute.”
It is not only the “minute” that has lost
its meaning in the Senate. A session day in the chamber does not
mean 24 hours. It could last only a minute or two as when the
session was opened and then immediately closed last Wednesday when
most of the senators were at the Supreme Court for the oral
arguments on the petition of Sec. Romulo Neri. A “close-open”
session also ensues whenever the inquiry into the national broadband
network project is held on a session day.
Of course, a session day could also last more
than 24 days, as when a session is merely suspended to resume the
following day. Usually, a session is suspended when there is no
assurance that a quorum could be mustered the next day.
A “week” for the senators could also mean
eternity for us average persons. Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chairman of
the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, had
promised a group of women activists to hold a public hearing
“within two weeks” on the proposed Magna Carta for Women. That
was in January. It is now March, the Senate is set to go on a
month-long Lenten recess this Thursday and Madrigal has not yet
scheduled any committee hearing.
Madrigal’s “week,” however, is nothing
compared to her “immediately.” During the 2004 campaign, she
promised in many places that should she win, she would return with
her famous endorser Juday Santos, immediately after her
proclamation. It has been four years since she made that promise,
but she and Juday had not returned to those places. This must have
disappointed no end those who voted for her because they thought
they would see Juday again.
How about a “month?” Well, the only month
associated with the Senate is “august,” as it is usually called
an “august body.” “August” means “majestic” or even
“imposing” but this may not apply considering the actuations of
some senators. I believe I heard Madrigal correctly when she spoke
of the “aghast body.” Now, now, who would argue with that
description?
I must admit though that “Senate Time” could
also prevent bad fortune from befalling a senator. Sen. Dick Gordon,
also chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, was worried sick
about the flashfloods that had hit Quezon and Aurora in December
2005. He arranged for a helicopter to take him and some PNRC
officials to the disaster area. Dick, however, was late so the
chopper took off without him. The chopper, unfortunately, crashed
and among those who perished was former PAG-ASA Director Mar
Punongbayan. So, it was a good thing that Dick came late, otherwise,
the usually late Gordon would have been “the late Gordon.”
Villar vs. Roxas
A foreshadow of the 2010 rivalry between Senate
President Manuel Villar and Sen. Mar Roxas is seen in their frequent
divergence of positions. The latest was that on the compromise
formula endorsed by the Supreme Court to end the impasse between the
Senate and Malacañang. Villar opposed the compromise, saying it
would weaken the Senate as an institution. Mar favored it, saying it
would enable the Senate to dig into the truth behind the national
broadband network project. Villar won that battle but the war is
still unfinished.
Incidentally, why the plunge in the rating of
Villar and Mar in the latest survey of the Pulse Asia conducted in
Metro Manila? It is an accepted axiom that a successful politician
is one who says what majority of the people are saying, and says it
loudest. Villar and Mar are on the popular side with their support
for Jun Lozada and their opposition to the administration. They are
seen almost daily on TV. Their comments are widely quoted in
newspapers. These should have endeared them to Metro Manilans who
are passionately anti-administration. Yet, the Pulse Asia figures
don’t lie—their ratings are down. Oh well, that is for their
brain thrusts to find out. Me? For the life of me, I could never
figure that one out.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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