Is the Philippine  opposition already dead?

There is no credible, truly alive, and consistently determined opposition in the Philippines today. It seems that everybody is afraid of the Palace. Our Senate and House are like the houses of Lords and Commons in the United Kingdom. They are all afraid of Buckingham Palace. They cannot even elect a prime minister without the blessings of the king. In Cebu Province, there is no opposition. In the City Council, the opposition is what Talyux Bacalso used to call "mingaw pa sa tirana.”

The problem with a country with only one political party, like China, Russia, and North Korea, is that dissent is dead and those who express disagreement will certainly end in death. Well, I only mean political death, whenever we consider the situation in the Philippines today. Many senators who used to be independent minded have suddenly become silent, apparently afraid of political death. The House opposition is fast diminishing. Only Edcel Lagman and France Castro are carrying the flickering light of the opposition. In the Senate, only senators Koko Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros would sound off a whimper every now and then. Senate Grace Poe is silent, the lawyer Pia Cayetano is silent. Only Imee Marcos would at times amuse as with her contrived criticism against some of her younger brother's appointees.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano who used to have the fiery audacity to stand up boldly against GMA and PNoy, and who debated fiercely against BBM in 2016 is now as silent as the night. He does not appear in committee hearings and Senate investigations and thus the deliberations therein are deprived of his incisive questioning and intelligent interrogations. He was elected by the people because there is so much trust in his legal acumen. But he has not lived up to the expectations of those who brought him back to the Senate again.

The ones who are talking ad infinitum and ad absurdum in the Senate are non-lawyers who have the guts to lecture us on what is the law, and what is legal and what is illegal. The salutatorian in Ateneo Law, the son of Compañero Rene Cayetano is watching from the sidelines and leaving senators Bato de la Rosa, Bong Go, Robinhood Padilla, Raffy Tulfo, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla to discuss on what legislation to enact.

Is Chiz Escudero still a member of the Senate? I have not seen him in plenary, much less in committee hearings and Senate investigations. We miss his smart questioning and his clever repartee. He was like a Soc Rodrigo or a Ramon Mitra in the days of the Young Turks with Ninoy Aquino in the Senate of the pre-Martial Law early ‘70’s. Chiz, like Alan Peter, are like pearls and gold thrown into a den of boisterous braggarts. Their worst disservice to the country is their refusal to say their piece when the issues involving law and justice are raging like a forest fire. Only senators Raffy Tulfo and Robinhood Padilla would dare pontificate on constitutional amendments while the former UP champion debater, Chiz, would restrain himself and keep his peace. I do not call that restraint but unfair withholding of vital knowledge that could save the nation from wrong and misguided legislative enactments.

Senator Sonny Angara has a masters degree from Harvard, but why is he silent when Senator Robinhood would tell us about constitutional provisions than needed to be abrogated? Senator Pia is an outstanding lawyer who earned her law degree with flying colors from UP Diliman. But she is silent too as if in the Senate today there is a conspiracy of silence. Even the Senate pro tempore, Senator Loren would open her mouth once in a while. She is a good one but she is not a lawyer and could not guide the upper chamber to the true path of the law. There is no opposition in the Senate. The House is a monolith controlled exclusively by the speaker. I miss the days of senators Diokno, Aquino, Tañada, Salonga, Rodrigo, Manglapus, and Laurel. There is no more credible opposition in the House.

We might as well abolish the Lower House and retain only the Senate but for only five functions; to proclaim a duly elected president, to ratify a treaty, confirm a presidential appointment, approve a declaration of war, and to impeach the president and other impeachable officials. As of today, the opposition is dead.