A couple of weeks ago, I saw a group picture of senators from the early seventies. A few days later, I saw another picture, this time of some of the current senators. The contrast could not have been clearer.
How the Senate Has Fallen
A former convict now entertains on the floor where once walked the likes of Ninoy Aquino, Gerry Roxas, Lorenzo Sumulong, Doy Laurel, and Ramon Mitra. Ironically, it was a Marcos who helped make it happen. After he abolished Congress in 1972 when he declared martial law, the Senate was never the same again.
The Giants of the Past
Gone were the erudite men and women, accomplished in their own fields outside of politics, who valued their reputation above personal ambition. Jovito Salonga was a bar topnotcher whose 95.3% average in the 1944 examination was a record-breaker. Tecla San Andres Ziga was the first female bar topnotcher in the country. Another bar topnotcher was Arturo Tolentino, who helped write the Civil Code of the Philippines and authored several law books. Emmanuel Pelaez also topped the bar. Jose Diokno did even better by topping both the CPA board and the bar examinations.
Lorenzo Tañada played for the national football team. He would later obtain a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University. Another athlete lawyer was Ambrosio Padilla, who played for the Philippine basketball team that won the gold medal in the 9th Far Eastern Games in Tokyo. There were three senators from Cebu—Sergio Osmeña Jr., Sonny Osmeña, and Rene Espina—and one from Negros Oriental, Lorenzo Teves. The Senate president was Gil Puyat, who at 33 was one of the youngest deans at the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration.
The Current Senate
The current Senate has members who can stand next to the giants in the old one in terms of academic achievement and love of country, but they are the exception rather than the rule. So now, we are made to see them summon a fugitive to help in their power grab, coddle him, help him escape, and allow him to participate in any voting from the hole where he is hiding. It pains, but it does not surprise anymore.
