Showdown at the Senate (IIAOL)

E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

Showdown at the Senate
Sunday, 04 30, 2006

I watched the movie Gladiator last night, and I realized the most moving parts were not the scenes of swordplay and blood and guts spilled all over the place, but that scene where the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, at his death bed, conveyed a dying wish to his most trusted general: "Bring the empire back to its republican state." With the clarity of mind ascribed to people at the verge of death, Marcus Aurelius, who presided over the grandeur that was Rome, wanted Rome not to be ruled by an emperor after him, but for Rome to be a republic where the reins of government will be wielded by the people themselves through their representatives.

Art oftentimes has a perverse way of reflecting life. In a gesture akin to that moment of epiphany where a Buddhist novice strikes his forehead at the moment of enlightenment, I realized that the empress at that Palace by the Pasig might as well be a 21st century reincarnation of Marcus Aurelius. Meaning, there is the conviction that as long as one is alive, one should rule like an emperor, and it is only after one’s death that the affairs of the State should not proceed in the manner that one has conducted it.

The empress, consistent with her usual backtracking ways, had many times in the past stated that the policies of her government are all geared to make this country a strong republic. Sure, but what she did not elucidate clearly enough was her intention to achieve this aim with the aid of a complaisant military. She let loose the dogs of war to enforce issuances reminiscent of martial rule, executive proclamations under the guise of emergency measures — all completely repugnant to the letter and spirit of republicanism.

The recent repudiation by the Supreme Court (SC) of Executive Order (EO) 464 as being unconstitutional was an affirmation that this government has not only overstepped the limits of its executive power, but also encroached upon and violated the basic tenets of separation of powers. Just like an empress would. Thank God for the enlightened minds of the justices, that one branch of government that the executive has rendered almost impotent can now proceed, through its power to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation, to draw back the veil of secrecy that shrouds many controversy such as the Mayuga Report, the Garci Tapes, the fertilizer scam, the San Mateo raid, etcetera.

The power of the Senate to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation is an awesome power, and it co-exists with its principal power to make laws. This power includes the power to compel the attendance of government officials and employees and private citizens. Of course, this power has certain limits, such as it must, as its nomenclature suggests, be in aid of legislation, and the rights of the persons appearing therein must be respected. But the curtailment of this power under EO 464 made the Senate inutile and, consequently, the people, through their representatives, were manacled from exercising this power and right.

Traditionally, the Senate whose constituency is national in scope, is an independent Senate. It is a great institution of democracy whose primordial concern is not only to promote but protect the general welfare of the citizens. The Senate, as it has often been said, is a Senate of equal men and observes no masters. It can intrude, when necessary, into the innermost nooks of governmental sanctum sanctorum, so that the general welfare can be protected and excesses of one branch can be checked.

It is thus wondrous and fascinating why the executive branch has displayed an overzealous protectiveness of its functionaries as well as officers of the military that they are not allowed, by fiat of an unconstitutional executive order, to attend Senate hearings and inquiries without the consent of the empress.

To label them as rogues out for blood in the arena of public debates is only to invite the senators to do just that: Exact blood for the indiscretions of the government. It would do well for the chief of staff of the empress to keep his mouth shut, lest he finds himself the head of gladiators who, at the start of battle to certain death, will collectively make the obeisance: Ave, Gloria; te salutamus moritur — Hail, Gloria; we who are about to die salute you.

The government continues to defy the SC. For one thing, it says the Mayuga Report will not be released, come what may. The Senate, on the other hand, is unbending in its will to look into the pages of that report. When an irresistible force meets an immovable object, something’s got to give. There can only be a showdown, and the combatants are girding for it. We wonder who is going to bite the dust.

We expect the Senate to continue with its mandated thrust — not only to enact better laws, but to pierce the veil of darkness and expose the light and truth in its investigations. These days, too, it had better be aware that a threat more ominous than an executive order from the empress hell-bent on wishing its dissolution is real: The empress, in the dying days of her credibility, wants to change the form of government and has instructed the fawning driver of the Dagupan Express to run over, smash and flatten anyone who stands along the tracks. And you can be sure there is also that whispered instruction to the generals: “Make sure there are no obstacles. After all, we are building a strong republic.”

Which makes us lament with Robert Frost when he said, “Ah, when to the heart of man/Was it ever less than a treason/To go with the drift of things/To yield with a grace to reason/And bow and accept the end/Of a love or season.”

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