End of delusion

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Reality finally came crashing down on Alan Peter Cayetano this week, dashing his illusion. In a special session called by the president, the Senate first settled the leadership row before tackling legislative matters.

Thirteen senators attended the special session. The new majority was joined by Joel Villanueva from the Cayetano bloc. With 13 senators present, the constitutional requirement to elect a new Senate president was satisfied. The post had been vacant since the beginning of the month, when the new majority reorganized the Senate.

With enough numbers to elect the Senate president, the new majority, which now expanded to include Villanueva, elected Sen. Win Gatchalian as the new Senate president. A new Senate president pro tempore, Sen. Tito Sotto, was also chosen by the group. With this development, it’s the end of delusion for Alan Peter Cayetano.

Cayetano held the record for the shortest Senate presidency in the post-EDSA era and the second shortest in history. He occupied the post for nearly a month, or 28 days. Only Camilo Osias beat Cayetano for the record, holding the shortest Senate presidency for 13 days in 1952. Osias died while Cayetano was ousted.

But in terms of performance, there is no debate. Alan Peter Cayetano is the worst Senate president in history. His toxic and chaotic leadership plunged the Senate into its worst crisis ever. For the first time ever, the Senate had a lower approval rating than the House of Representatives. It only happened during Cayetano’s presidency. His presidency is the vilest in the history of the Philippine Senate.

It did not come as a surprise that the Cayetano era was dark. The circumstances of its rise were insidious. After poaching four members from the then-majority led by Tito Sotto, Cayetano still did not have the numbers to stage a coup. He sprung from hiding the fugitive Bato de la Rosa, who was evading arrest from a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The sudden appearance of de la Rosa on the Senate floor clinched the Senate presidency for Cayetano.

The spectacle created by the sudden appearance of Bato de la Rosa was one of the lowest moments for the Senate as an institution. Videos of de la Rosa stumbling while running away from arresting officers went viral and became a national meme.

After seizing the Senate presidency, Cayetano invented the nonexistent “Senate protective custody” idea to prevent de la Rosa’s arrest. He then staged a shooting incident where his underlings fired at empty spaces to create chaos and confusion, which served as cover for Bato de la Rosa’s escape from the Senate premises. The Senate was transformed into a hideout of the underworld, its ultimate defilement.

Instead of a legislative body, the Senate became a theater of the absurd where allies of Cayetano staged crying dramas, gaslighting antics, and a host of theatrics, which gave birth to Senateflix, a new source of national entertainment. Cayetano himself spent more time livestreaming on Facebook than performing his duty as Senate head, creating a spectacle of online selling, not of goods but of political narratives and propaganda.

Cayetano’s leadership was abrasive, brash, and abusive. He imposed the tyranny of the majority and roughshod the minority. The Senate president is supposed to be the leader of the institution, not only of the majority, but Cayetano acted like a despotic executive instead of leading a collegial body. His mistreatment of the minority precipitated a crisis never seen before in the annals of the Senate. It led to a paralysis that crippled the Senate as an institution.

The highly partisan and poisonous leadership of Cayetano caused unease even among his allies. Sensing he no longer had the numbers, Cayetano instigated a boycott of Senate sessions, an act unparalleled in the Senate’s history. The majority staging a strike and refusing to attend session is unheard of, a unique achievement of the Cayetano era.

Preventing the Senate from functioning to hang on to power was a turning point for some allies of Cayetano. That Cayetano would rather destroy the Senate for personal ends was too much for some members of his bloc. Eventually, they deserted him, starting with Chiz Escudero, who ended his boycott and showed up at the Senate, enabling the chamber to conduct business again as provided for by the Avelino v. Cuenco jurisprudence. At that point, Cayetano’s leadership collapsed, and he was removed from his post. The final nail in the coffin was driven by Joel Villanueva, who abandoned Cayetano by joining the new Senate majority. The delusion of Alan Peter Cayetano ended.

Except for the loss of prestige of the Senate, the Cayetano presidency has accomplished nothing for the institution. Important legislation was not acted upon, as well as the promotion of officials. The boycott of Senate sessions, a novelty, was induced by Cayetano and his allies, creating an impasse in the legislature. Strife, paralysis, high drama, cheap entertainment, and political intrigue but zero work are the legacy of Cayetano’s short-lived reign in the Senate. The nation rejoices that his rule is over.

Moving forward, it must be ensured that the darkest chapter in Senate history is not repeated. The nation has seen the damage that Cayetano’s brand of leadership can do to the Senate. Had Cayetano stayed much longer, the country would have suffered considerably. A nonfunctional Senate would have paralyzed the government, a man-made calamity the country cannot afford.

To prevent a Cayetano type of leadership from rising again in the Senate, Filipinos must be discerning and wise in electing senators. People who have the mentality and attitude of Cayetano bloc senators do not deserve to serve in the august body. Characters who behave like entitled spoiled brats but lack mental acuity should never be elected senator. Come 2028, Filipinos should have learned well from the Cayetano fiasco.