The Senate under JPE

E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

The Senate under JPE
Sunday, 11 23, 2008

That was quite a scene last Monday at the Senate. When the carnage ended, we were left with a picture that said a thousand words: A quondam subordinate administering the oath of office to his erstwhile boss. For a while, we were transported back to those heady days in February 1986, when the faces of Col. Gregorio Honasan and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile were very much on center stage of what is now known as the Edsa Revolt.

From Edsa in 1986 to the present has been a long way for these two gentlemen – and has been filled with memorable episodes of their momentary disappearances, only to resurface at some dramatic, propitious time. Last week, they resurfaced as Sen. Gregorio Honasan administering the oath of office to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate President.

Here is the third most powerful official of the land being propped up by the younger generation of legislators, a Senate presidency that works on the strength of experience of the old yet feeding on the dynamism of the young.

Not exactly young at 84, but still very healthy and equipped with perhaps the most brilliant mind in the Senate, JPE has been a fixture of the legislature since its restoration in 1987. He has been there for quite a time that it would not be a hyperbole to say that the young senators, exemplified by the likes of Greg, Jinggoy Estrada and Chiz Escudero, through either beneficient contagion or osmosis, have learned from JPE a most important attribute a legislator could have: Thinking on one’s feet on every policy issue tossed at his face.

We have seen how JPE could debate, thrash out, hash out and argue any issue. Often he does this as if he were just thinking out loud, but the more significant reality is that JPE does his own homework, and comes prepared for any argument. Now as Senate President, JPE could very well be the taskmaster who expects his senators to be prepared as well, and anyone not prepared to debate an issue but feigning otherwise could be exposed for the woeful poverty of information that lies behind the sound and fury of his statements.

Given this work ethic, expect the Senate then under JPE to subject all measures under consideration through a fine-toothed comb, and every senator contributing to the enlightenment of the public.

JPE has successfully managed bigger and more labyrinthine bureaucracies before: The Department of Finance, Department of Justice, and the Ministry of Defense. With him now at the helm of the Senate and the Commission on Appointments, it is reasonable to expect these two institutions, with their corps of well-trained and dedicated technical and administrative personnel, to perform much better than they are doing now.

In accepting the heavy responsibility of the Senate presidency, JPE said: “To lead the Senate, with its great minds, strong advocacies, varying and independent political beliefs and leanings, it is not an easy task. But it is precisely this variance in points of view and the battle of great ideas that provide the dynamism we need to craft legislation that takes into account and balances the competing interests involved, with the end in view of serving the greater good of the people to whom we owe our mandate.”

These speak much of the self-awareness of the man, of his admission that there are limits to the exercise of power despite the awesome capacity now in his hands to influence persons and events. It not so many words, JPE has said that he is not the Senate: that, rather, he is the servant of the people who relies on the collective wisdom of his peers. It not so many words, he has said that he will not impose his will on those who put him up as Senate President. What we should expect, in so many instances, is for JPE to articulate what the Senate arrives at after through deliberations.

Whatever positions JPE may take on the controversies of the day, expect him to allow the rules, norms and procedures of the Senate to be observed in a punctilious fashion. Already, there is now a change in work ethic: Sessions start on time, there is a weekly caucus of senators, and more to come.

But of course there will be scoffers and doubters. Already, some have sounded the alarm that the JPE Senate completes the ideal triad that bedevils the administration’s wet dreams: A complaisant Senate, a subservient House of Representatives and a deferential Judiciary. JPE’s reaction to this title-tattle as well as to reports that he was being groomed as transition president was an explosive “I will tell them to go to hell!!”

For one, JPE has not been anyone’s else stooge in the 43 years he has been in public service. Then again, one has to look at the configuration of the senators who voted him into office – a majority of them have strong positions contra the administration.

No doubt, the “euro” generals caper, fertilizers scam, and all frauds coming out of the woodwork these days will be pursued to their rightful closure. JPE is not about to disregard his affinity to the truth and aversion to corruption. The Senate will continue to be the forum where issues are discussed intelligently, where policies are crafted for the best interests of the nation, and where the rights of persons in the course of oversight are respected. Attribute these to the lifelong adherence of JPE to the Rule of Law and as seeker of the right. And expect the mark of JPE, who knows public finance like the palm of his hand, in the right places for the right purposes as far as the people’s money is concerned.

Above all, expect a Senate that is independent, with JPE at its helm whose many years in public service carries the stubborn streak of independence and righteous indignation at every turn.


For comments about this website:Webmaster@tribune.net.ph

The Daily Tribune © 2008