Sanctuary of scoundrels

By Artchil B. Fernandez

The Philippine Senate used to be one of the most respectable institutions in the country. Not anymore. A few decades after its restoration in the post-EDSA regime, the Senate’s downward slide has been steady. In the aftermath of the Senate coup last Monday, the Senate has sunk to a new low in the eyes of the nation.

May 11, 2026, was a day full of high political drama in both houses of Congress. Over at the House of Representatives, members voted overwhelmingly — 257 in favor, 25 against, and 9 abstentions — to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time. It far exceeded the 215 who supported the first impeachment of the vice president, demonstrating the powerful clout of the current administration in the lower chamber.

In the Senate, a different scenario unfolded. Packed with high drama — tragic comedy — Duterte senators successfully launched a coup. Four majority senators joined the nine minority senators to form a new majority, albeit razor-thin. The biggest surprise of the day was the sudden appearance of Bato dela Rosa, who had been in hiding since November last year, fearing arrest for crimes against humanity from the International Criminal Court. He came to cast the crucial 13th vote.

The Senate coup is definitely the Dutertes’ answer to the maneuver of the Marcoses in the lower house. If the Dutertes cannot stop the impeachment in the House, they must control the flow of the impeachment trial in the Senate, if not prevent it from happening. The Dutertes successfully prevented a Senate trial last year. If they did it before, they can do it again. Will they succeed for the second time?

The current Senate leadership can stall the impeachment trial of Sara Duterte. They can sit on it, taking their time to take up the case. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling stating that “forthwith” in the Constitution means the Senate has leeway on when to begin the trial of an impeached official. This legal opening can be exploited by Duterte senators to delay the trial or prevent it from taking place. They can invent any alibi or justification, no matter how silly, flimsy, or lame, to justify their action. Duterte senators are notorious for conjuring the most outrageous excuses to justify their devious actions.

If they cannot stop the trial from happening, the Duterte senators, with their testy control of the Senate, can erect blocks, hurdles, or impediments to prevent crucial evidence from coming to light or dismiss it outright. They can even arrogantly dismiss the case without looking at the evidence. Duterte senators can always invoke the tyranny of a compact majority to get what they want, truth and justice be damned.

It is easy to dismiss the new Senate majority as beholden only to House Duterte. Their critics call them lapdogs of one family, serving and advancing the interests of the Dutertes. These observations have merit, but it is erroneous to solely attribute their constitution of the new majority to canine devotion to the Dutertes.

Serving the interests of the Dutertes is part of the motive, but their paramount drive is to advance, satisfy, and serve their selfish, self-centered, and personal interests. They did it foremost for themselves, aside from saving Sara Duterte.

The Villar siblings jumped ship not only to reciprocate the bonanza their family got during the rule of the Duterte patriarch. Mark Villar was his DPWH secretary, who ensured that their real estate investments handsomely benefited from government projects. But apart from expressing gratitude, the Villar siblings are trying to save their skin. Their family business empire is under serious investigation by government agencies for alleged unethical and illegal business practices like insider trading. Public outrage against the Villars is reaching a boiling point, especially in franchise areas of their water and electricity firms, where people are suffering from poor and decrepit services. Mark Villar is also facing possible complicity in the ghost flood control projects. They assumed that they will be off the hook once Sara Duterte becomes president.

The Cayetano siblings are chiefly serving their dynastic interests, which happen to be aligned with the Dutertes. Alan Peter Cayetano is scandalously ambitious and has been salivating for high positions like the Senate presidency. His sister, supporting his ambition, had to betray her former allies to secure the dynastic interests of her family.

Loren Legarda is already an infamous political butterfly with disreputable allegations of prostituting her career. Her son is in deep trouble with the energy department for unfulfilled solar project commitments. A Sara Duterte presidency may save her son from prosecution, thus striking a deal with the Dutertes.

Bato dela Rosa is facing arrest from the ICC. The new Senate leadership flexed its muscle to prevent his turnover to the international tribunal. After coddling him for a while, he was allowed by the majority to escape the Senate premises and become a fugitive again.

Some senators — Escudero, Estrada, and Villanueva — aligned with the new majority are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the ghost flood control projects. Arrest warrants may be issued against them anytime soon. Like Bato dela Rosa, they will likely use the Senate as a refuge from arrest. The Senate is their shelter from the law.

The Senate is now reduced to a sanctuary of scoundrels. It is a captured institution used by vested interests as protection and a shield from the law. Senators involved in corruption scandals like the ghost flood control projects, or fugitives from an international court, are using the Senate as a means to evade the law, circumvent justice, and stifle the truth. The once-hallowed institution of the Senate is now a haven for those who are trying to escape the long arms of the law and justice.

Fugitives, crime suspects, and wicked and greedy politicians are now in control of the Senate. The Senate has become a den and hideout of crooks. This is how low the Philippine Senate has fallen as an institution.