We have to be fools to allow the likes of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to stay in office. When Cayetano could not get his way, like a spoiled brat, he went on strike and abdicated his responsibilities in the Senate. He had the audacity to reinvent his petulance as a heroic act.
It is not surprising that beleaguered Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano's leadership has been rejected by the House and the Palace in favor of recently elected Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian. Cayetano's claims that he abandoned his Senate duties by leading a bloc boycott to preserve the independence of the Senate are pure hogwash. He is not motivated by patriotism but by self-preservation.
A Pattern of Disruptive Behavior
Let his own political history speak for itself. When he was House Speaker in 2020, Cayetano employed similar political theatrics to stop Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco from becoming House speaker despite a prior gentleman's agreement of term-sharing. To block Velasco, Cayetano abruptly suspended House sessions ahead of schedule, stripped Velasco's allies of their leadership and committee positions, and infamously had the plenary hall padlocked, electricity shut off, and Wi-Fi disconnected to prevent the Velasco camp from holding an official session to oust him and broadcasting it live.
Was it not only recently that a strangely similar incident occurred at the Senate? The air conditioning was suddenly turned off and Wi-Fi disconnected while the former minority sat in the session hall for hours waiting for Cayetano and his allies to show up. In the end, they were stood up. Such disrespect and infantilism have no place in the Senate. School children could be better behaved.
Questioning Legitimacy
Just like in 2020, when the Velasco bloc succeeded in voting him out, Cayetano labeled their session fake and illegal. Now, he is calling the actions of the Gatchalian bloc illegal and unconstitutional. If Cayetano truly believes that, why can he not muster the courage to show up? Why does he continue to hide from his colleagues? If he wants to question the legality of their actions, he should appear at the Senate and debate them on the floor, not go on Facebook Live spewing diatribes from behind the safety of his screen.
The public must understand that Cayetano displays a disturbing pattern of behavior showing a lack of decency and respect for others. The events of 2020 and 2026 are inexorably linked, displaying clearly the kind of person he is. He clings to power. He has no word of honor. He resorts to dirty tactics. He manipulates and maneuvers. He is coercive and unethical. He questions the legitimacy of his opponents' actions to sow doubt, delay, and stop anyone from taking power or position from him. And this is a man who constantly invokes the name of God and quotes Scripture.
The things happening at the Senate are unbelievable and untenable. How low can Cayetano and his cohorts go? Do they still not get it? No one is buying their performances. Kudos to the thinking Filipino people. As Cayetano now seems more interested in being a vlogger than a senator, I hope that this ruckus, which has exhausted us all for too long, will end as it did in 2020—with Cayetano tendering his resignation on Facebook Live. We have to be fools to elect the likes of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano again.
