Senate power struggle betrays public duty

The Senate can dress this up in legal arguments, quorum counts, committee reorganizations and constitutional language, but to ordinary Filipinos, the picture is simpler: while senators fight over the gavel, the work of the country is being shoved aside.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines may be right that the June 3, 2026 session was lawful and valid under the Avelino doctrine, with 12 senators enough to constitute a quorum after two members were deemed unavailable. That settles one legal question, at least for now. It does not settle the larger one: What exactly are senators doing with the authority they fought so hard to exercise?

The chamber had already lost two working days to the leadership impasse before it reopened. Reuters and The Associated Press both reported that the deadlock broke only after enough senators showed up to allow business to resume, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. publicly urging the Senate to get back to work. That should embarrass the institution.

The Senate is supposed to handle the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, examine a flood control scandal now tied to allegations of kickbacks exceeding PHP 570 million, and act on long-delayed reforms such as the anti-political dynasty law. It should also be helping confront the education crisis, where the World Bank pegged learning poverty in the Philippines at 91 percent in 2022, meaning nine in 10 children could not read and understand a simple text by age 10.

Yet what do citizens see? They see senators arguing over who is Senate president. They see rival claims over the Blue Ribbon Committee. They see witnesses being paraded in a corruption hearing, only for their claims to run into basic factual questions.

A corruption probe must be tough. It must follow the money, subpoena records, test affidavits, and force powerful people to answer. But it cannot become a stage where accusations are thrown around first and checked later.

The June 4 Blue Ribbon hearing on alleged flood control kickbacks has already raised troubling questions. Names were mentioned. Suitcases were described. Envelopes and paper bags entered the narrative. But critics also noted that allegations involving Sens. Loren Legarda and Mark Villar were not initially emphasized, despite their reported inclusion in the same affidavit.

That is not a small matter. If the names are in the affidavit, then they should be treated with the same seriousness as everyone else. Not louder for enemies. Not softer for allies.

The testimony against Fr. Flavie Villanueva is even more troubling. The Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation and Program Paghilom said no SVD parish, church or ministry center exists along Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City, contrary to a witness’ claim. They called the allegation “malicious, defamatory, and a grave injustice” and said, “Truth deserves protection.”

They are right. False testimony is not a side issue. It is also corruption because it corrupts public truth. It destroys reputations, distracts from real wrongdoing, and allows the guilty to hide behind the weakness of bad evidence.

The flood control scandal deserves a serious investigation, not a factional show. Communities flood because projects are defective, delayed, overpriced, or imaginary. Public works money should buy protection, not political loyalty.

The Senate still has time to recover some dignity. It can settle its leadership question without paralyzing the chamber. It can allow the impeachment process to move under clear rules. It can investigate flood control corruption through documents, contracts, bank trails, project inspections and sworn testimony that survives basic checking.

But first, senators must remember the job: The gavel is not the prize. Public trust is.