[Rear View] With Kiko and Bam said to be joining Senate majority, what happens to Risa?

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To the true believers, the apparent decision of Pangilinan and Aquino to join the majority is a betrayal of Hontiveros

The word “betrayal” has been popping up in online conversations among pink forces ever since Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada disclosed that senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Bam Aquino will be joining the Senate majority under the presumed leadership of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

The frustration is best summed up by the sentiment of a high school classmate. She’s a retired bank executive fond of posting inspirational quotes and photos of her pet dogs in our chat group. But she was so scandalized by Vice President Sara Duterte’s reported misuse of confidential funds that she campaigned vigorously for Pangilinan and Aquino in our chat group, on social media, and among her neighbors. She was confident that as senator-judges, they would exact accountability from the Vice President. Reacting to Pangilinan’s most recent social media post, which all but confirmed Estrada’s claim, my classmate wrote on Facebook: “Nasayang lang boto ko. Mga taksil.”

Cursed by past electoral losses, Pangilinan and Aquino are now hounded by high expectations.  Those who campaigned and voted for them did so for reasons that do not allow moral ambiguity or political vagueness.

In the expectant words of Senator Risa Hontiveros, she needed “mga katulong sa Senado,” a poor choice of words, sadly, since it also means getting hired help, supporting players to the star, who is Hontiveros. Guess what? The hired help seems to want to leave.  

The anticipated and much hyped independent bloc, “Risa and her Katulongs,” may now become a mono bloc.

Perks of the majority

In the past, being in the Senate minority simply meant belonging to the bloc that did not support the new Senate president. But being in the majority does not translate to being part of the herd.

Take the late former senator Ernesto Maceda, who was elected in 1987 as part of the triumphant slate of the late former president Cory Aquino. Maceda became known as “Mr. Exposé” for his often brutal attacks and exposés on the Aquino administration. He was among the 13 senators who voted “no” to the retention of US military bases despite pressures from various sectors, including Aquino herself who led a pro-US bases rally.

It was only during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte when being part of the Senate majority meant being complicit in the regime’s tyranny and abuse, where even neutrality was seen as surrender. The Senate majority, in the view of political observers, began to mimic the House in its docility. By being a party to the persecution of one of their own, then-senator Leila de Lima, the Senate majority failed to guard the institution when it was being attacked.

Being in the minority became a place of honor. It meant resistance to the tyranny of the majority and the tyranny of one man.  

Being in the majority offers a load of perks. Budget insertions, for one. The distribution of insertions in government projects during budget deliberations favors those in the majority. Majority senators get to pick their committees, enjoy the advantage of first dibs for prestige foreign travel assignments, and easy access to and liquidation of discretionary and other funds. 

Certain committees provide not just prestige but power and influence. Their endorsements for projects or government posts carry more weight, as government executives are wary of displeasing a senator who can block confirmations or slash budgets. Will Pangilinan and Aquino partake of these perks, including the controversial budget insertions? 

Abandoned

Pangilinan and Aquino are returning to the Senate at a time of rising public disapproval over the delay in the impeachment trial. Being part of a majority that includes Duterte senators who are moving to kill the trial, led by a Senate president who is enabling these attempts, does not come across as principled. For some, it’s opportunistic.

To the true believers, the apparent decision of Pangilinan and Aquino to join the majority is a betrayal of Hontiveros. This early, Hontiveros has been crowned as the 2028 standard-bearer for the pinks, projected with much chest thumping and virtue signaling that conjures the ghost of Leni Robredo’s doomed presidential run.

Hontiveros says she is not hurt, nor does she feel betrayed. She would rather focus on a bigger goal, which is uniting the opposition. Seemingly abandoned by Pangilinan and Aquino, she appears headed for 2028 as a political orphan. – Rappler.com

Joey Salgado is a former journalist, and a government and political communications practitioner. He served as spokesperson for former vice president Jejomar Binay.