Our senatorial election, half tragedy?

Is there such a thing as “half tragedy”?

If we go by the dictionary definition of tragedy as an event causing great suffering, destruction and distress such as a serious accident, crime or natural catastrophe, then my use of “half tragedy” as a term is probably my literary abuse. Going by the degree of suffering or destruction, there may be a major tragedy or a minor tragedy but certainly tragedy cannot be divided into halves which I venture here.

In this column today, I dare to become a literary abuser. By using “half” in addition to the word tragedy, I intend to minimize the full impact of that word. I do so even if the risk of whipping up a huge crowd of harsh comments is greater than expecting nice words is there. The bashing more than the complimenting seems inescapable but just the same I will be guided by my intention of lightening the horrifying weight of the word - tragedy.

Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. So it is written in our constitution. Election is thus the key towards making our democracy work. Vox populi, after all is Vox Dei. In that context, we assume that with Divine Guidance, we elect the best. It was thus already a tragedy that in the last election the kind of such brilliant nationalistic minds as Diokno, Salonga, Tolentino, San Andres-Ziga and Tanada (to name few) was not there. But we, ordinary citizens, could not do anything if only the clowns and the unschooled together with the surrogates of powerful political clans were available.

There were, to me personally, three groups of senatorial candidates in the last polls namely the acceptable, the incompetent and those coming from political dynasties. Of the four acceptable ones whom I campaigned and actually voted for (that was why my ballot indicated under voting) only Pangilinan and Aquino, got elected. Heidi Mendoza and Ariel Querubin, lost.

The absence of ideal lawmakers, (to repeat, Diokno et al.) being the first part of the “half tragedy” worsened when Lito Lapid was re-elected. Hereafter, we will be distressed witnessing the movie star Lapid, clothed in the solemn garb of a senator yet contributing nothing in Senate deliberations. His silence in the Senate hall, borne by his educational mediocrity, is, indeed, tragedy personified.

The half tragedy continues when candidates of political dynasties won. Twenty-four senators are vested with legislative powers. They are constitutionally mandated to make laws for the one hundred fifteen million Filipinos. In figures, that is 24 is to 115,000,000. This equation is drastically changed to 20 is to 115,000,000 when we reckon the fact that 8 senators, (or one third of the senate) belong to 4 families. I cannot dispute the propositions written in some studies that corruption, in whatever form, is present when political power is concentrated in few families.

Acknowledged political analysts, intellectually profound academicians and known observers have somehow collectively come up with the view that the result of the election pivoted from the impending impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. The Alyansa of President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr campaigned hard to make sure that they will have the number of senators needed to find the vice president guilty. On the other hand, the PDP Laban targeted at getting, at least 9 senators on their side enough to acquit VP Sara.

From those minds I mentioned above, this is my learning of the hardest part of the half tragedy. When the final votes were tabulated, we realized that our countrymen voted not on the basis of who can write bills for the highest interest of the people. Instead, we cast our votes with the end in view of assembling the number of senators to oust or not Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio from the vice presidency. What a tragedy!