Chiztitution

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Chiz Escudero is the personification of the cancer that ravages the Philippine body politic. He is the rot that gnaws at the constitutional foundation of the nation. For this ignominious dishonor, a new term was coined to define the Age of Escudero – Chiztitution. Doesn’t Chiztitution rhyme with prostitution?

Chiztitution is a new word taking the country by storm. Whoever invented the expression deserves huge acclamation and accolade. Chiztitution embodies the collective disgust, universal vexation, and general revulsion of the Filipino public at the nauseating antics of Chiz Escudero, who seized the impeachment of Sara Duterte as an opportunity to advance his selfish interests—nation be damned.

In the service of Chiz’s selfish plot, Escudero is taking advantage of the tectonic clash between the two major political dynastic families – the Dutertes and the Marcoses – to make himself the most pivotal player in national politics. Through his position as Senate president, Escudero is toying with and playing the interests of Team Kadiliman and Team Kasamaan to position himself as the ultimate arbiter who determines the outcome of the dynastic power play. In this Philippine version of Game of Thrones, Escudero revels and relishes playing Littlefinger.

The Dutertes want to prevent the impeachment trial of Sara Duterte from moving forward and terminate it. For self-preservation, the Dutertes must stop the impeachment trial. Despite the vacillation of Bongbong Marcos (BBM), the Marcoses have no choice but to prevent the political comeback of the Dutertes in 2028 to protect themselves from a political—and possibly literal—bloodbath. Sara Duterte’s removal from the political scene through the impeachment process is critical to the Marcoses’ survival. The Marcoses have no choice but to bring the impeachment process to its logical conclusion.

Chiz Escudero is playing both sides by dangling hope to the Dutertes and the Marcoses. He must be in seventh heaven right now, savoring the moment he has the two powerful dynastic families dancing to his tune. Drunk with his delusions, Escudero might have forgotten how Littlefinger met his end in the popular HBO series.

Through Chiztitution, Escudero is trying to secure his personal agenda. Chiztitution is the attempt of Escudero to embed or stamp his brand of politics on the Senate. Brattiness or a sense of entitlement is one hallmark of Chiztitution. Escudero thinks the Senate under his control is the most powerful branch of government that can do anything it wants and is not accountable to anyone. The latest edict of Escudero, which declares that the Senate as an impeachment court can do anything, sums up the Chiztitution mentality.

Drunk with power—another symptom of Chiztitution—Escudero has placed the impeachment court above the Constitution, the supreme law that created the Senate. In Chiztitution, the created is higher than the creator. Chiztitution is behind the brazen refusal of the Senate to obey the Constitution with regard to the impeachment process. The language of the Constitution is plain, simple, and clear. Once the Senate receives the impeachment complaint from the House, it must conduct a trial immediately.

The current Senate, under the spell of Chiztitution, ignored the Constitution and started to assume powers not granted to it. It remanded the impeachment complaint to the House, questioning its constitutionality. The power to rule on constitutional questions exclusively belongs to the Supreme Court, yet Chiztitution claims the impeachment court also has that power. This week, Escudero declared that the Senate as an impeachment court has the power to dismiss the impeachment complaint against the vice president by majority vote, assuming another power it does not possess.

Escudero’s arrogant proclamation on the possible Senate dismissal of Sara Duterte’s impeachment complaint stoked uproar in the legal community. “Can a court, without conducting a trial, without looking at the evidence, dismiss a case at will?” they cried. This is pure hubris. Courts are not allowed to dismiss a case without a hearing.

If the Chiztitution doctrine is allowed, this will render the impeachment process inutile and useless. All impeachment complaints can be dismissed at will by the Senate, mocking the Constitution and killing accountability. Should Chiztitution prevail, there will be no more impeachment trials in the Senate, which makes the impeachment effort of the House pointless and futile. This is not what the Constitution commands.

The most menacing aspect of Chiztitution is placing the Senate as an impeachment court above the law. The illusion of the Senate that it can do anything it wishes or pleases and is not accountable to the rule of law makes Chiztitution abhorrent to the constitutional order. Chiztitution is tyranny by an arrogant, deluded, and compact majority. The Senate becomes a law unto itself if Chiztitution triumphs.

Under the rule of law, all actions of the Senate must be in accordance with the Constitution. The Senate cannot act beyond what the Constitution says. This principle is what Chiztitution seeks to undermine and destroy. At present, Chiztitution is the most serious threat to the rule of law, the Constitution, and the liberal democratic order of the country. Chiztitution is a dangerous innovation and novelty—a constitutional heresy.

Alongside the fight for accountability and transparency in public service, Filipinos must also unmask and oppose Chiztitution. Chiz Escudero hatched Chiztitution to protect and advance his personal scheme; chief among them is to secure for himself the Senate presidency. Chiztitution is the naked power-tripping of Escudero.

Chiztitution is the latest metastasis of the malaise presently afflicting Philippine society. Unless this tumor is excised from the political system, the country will continue to decay under the grip of power-hungry, corrupt, useless, conscienceless, and heartless politicians.