We still hope there are legislators whose reason will prevail in Congress yet we cannot help but be saddened by the indiscriminate wielding of power in its halls.
Tax reform is taking effect with a general rise in the prices of commodities that is likely to weaken what purchasing power salary earners gain with lesser income tax stipulated by the law.
Buried beneath arguments about the effects of this law is the fact that it was enacted minus a quorum at the Lower House and the Senate.
Should we now expect bills to pass into with the fiat of as few as 10 people? What happened to the duty of the legislator to fiscalize measures on his table to ensure they benefit his constituents and do them no harm?
The House Justice Committee reconvenes today to tackle the impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is confident that her impeachment is a done deal.
Do the people deserve this arm-wrestling of the judiciary by lawmakers moving as a grand coalition, forgetting their loyalty to the country rather than to the super-majority?
That the legislature maneuvers to divide the High Court while it investigates the executive’s crackdown on illegal drugs for flaws has not escaped our notice.
The judiciary should stand its ground against the elect who grandstand with Malacañang’s blessing.
While having their way with the people’s pockets and the judiciary, Alvarez and his allies also intend to bulldoze the republic into federalism with little to no public discussion.
How can we deliver a well-discerned vote in a plebiscite on federalism that would be slated five months from now granted that the Speaker, as is becoming usual would have his way?
Why are federalism proponents wishy-washy with provisions on term extensions and tax-free salaries for current and possibly holdover officials?
Why abolish a Senate that compared to the Lower House has a better record of independence towards the executive and is capable of foiling the plots of district representatives?
Leaders who forget reason and do whatever they want are a sorry spectacle. Pity the nation where the elected forget servanthood and behave like everlasting rulers.