The come-uppance of the Senate

The behavior of lawyer Frank Chavez at the Senate hearing on jueteng last Tuesday, July 12, would have been so appalling for a man of his stature ( he was once solicitor general ) if only the Senate itself did not also richly deserve such behavior.

A woman named Sandra Cam, a self-confessed jueteng insider who has gone on a binge accusing government officials of taking bribes, was under intense grilling by one senator in particular, Richard Gordon, when Chavez, her lawyer, snapped.

Chavez apparently resented Gordon's line of questioning, as well as the manner in which his client was being grilled. The Ilonggo lawyer raised his voice, stood up, and eventually began pointing a finger at Gordon.

Normally, no Senate nor senator would have countenanced such insolence. In a different time, Chavez would have been, at the very least, censured and chastised right then and there. Or, worse, he could have been cited in contempt, perhaps detained.

But the outburst provoked nothing. Maybe the senators were too stunned to react. As this was written, the senators were to go into some sort of an executive session to determine what to do about the incident, if at all.

But then, whatever the senators may do afterward, whether they cite Chavez in contempt or merely let the incident pass, is already anti-climactic. Chavez stood up to the Senate and the senators were found wanting at the precise moment of the challenge.

To be sure, what Chavez did was reprehensible. Not a few people think this guy is a humbug, a smart-alecky type who thinks he has a monopoly on truth and brilliance. But you had to give it to him that time. He really socked it to the Senate, one could almost cheer for him.

So why would a swell-head be applauded for undermining the honor and integrity of the Senate? Because the Senate richly deserved it, that's why. Its come-uppance in the hands of Chavez had been too long in coming. But when it did, it came as a great relief.

Just a few articles back, we actually wrote about the same Senate hearing, and how we resented the way one senator, Jamby Madrigal, was treating a police officer named Mosqueda, the same one whom Sandra Cam had identified as a bribe-taker.

Madrigal is new to the Senate. And Mosqueda is hardly the type who would waltz his way to his own crucifixion. In other words, the police officer was not very helpful and cooperative. He was giving Madrigal a very hard time.

Madrigal comes from one of the old rich families in the Philippines. Whether it was this old affluence or the new-found importance of being a senator, but Madrigal began to treat Mosqueda like trash, openly insinuating that he was a nut case.

Now, Mosqueda may be guilty as hell. He could be everything that Sandra Cam said he is. But the Senate hearing is a Senate hearing. It is being conducted in aid of legislation. Mosqueda is not a person accused of a crime before a court of law. He is a guest of the Senate.

In other words, no matter what a scoundrel he is in the eyes of Madrigal, the senator had absolutely no right to treat him in the high-handed and abusive manner that she did, which was done, unfortunately, with the silent concurrence of the Senate.

So, with a Senate like that, which has actually racked up a track record of similar condescending behavior toward guests in a long series of previous other hearings called for whatever pretext, who could not want to applaud Chavez for sticking it up theirs?

There used to be a time when the Senate commanded awe and respect, its dignity unchallenged. If at times senators raised their voices, being only human, the lapse in decorum got swiftly forgotten in face of the intellectual exchange that invariably took place.

Senators used to be a different breed. Today, the Philippine Senate is peopled by the likes of Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla. Even Vilma Santos, Sharon Cuneta and Joseph Estrada are represented by their spouses there. No wonder Chavez was not in awe.