A Grateful Heart, An Unfinished Fight

“HE has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your GOD.” — Micah 6:8

Let me begin by saying that I am grateful to GOD, who in HIS providence saw fit to entrust me, for a season, with the burden of this office. I never held it as a prize to be kept, but as a weight to be carried in your service. For that trust — HIS, and yours — I give thanks.

When we were elected to be the new majority in May, many only gave us a week before we were all replaced.

I said then what I say now: it is not how long you live, but what you do with the life you are given, that counts. Personally, I would rather have held this office briefly and used it for something true than held it for years and used it for nothing.

And so let me thank those who stood with us when standing was the harder path. You chose principle over power and position, and you paid for it in ways the public may never fully see.

I would like to honor the deep personal sacrifice of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and his family. He stood his ground. And Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, for not bowing to pressure even when the threats of arrest have been coming from all sides. I will not forget it, and I will not let it count for nothing. The struggle for a Better Philippines, for Truth, does not end here, it has only just begun. Mga Kababayan, we carry it forward, together.

And to our brother who, in the end, felt he had no choice but to make peace with the new reality: I hold no bitterness toward you. I have seen the pressures that were brought to bear, and I understand them. May the public’s judgment of you be a kind one. We are not enemies — only colleagues, brothers caught in a moment larger than us all.

I will be honest about what I feel. I am not saddened by the loss of a position; a position that was never mine to keep. What saddens me is harder to say. It is to watch our country slip toward darkness — to see our people suffer, and to hear some begin to say there is no hope. Walang pag-asa. Paulit-ulit na lang ang korapsyon. Pare-pareho lang sila. And there is something harder still to accept. Mahirap tanggapin na may mga nagsasabing mulat sila, mga aktibista — lalo na ang nasa gobyerno o media — na nagtutulug-tulugan, para masabing hindi nila nakikita ang korapsyon, o ang mga mastermind. I am sad that so many in our government are willing to look away from corruption when looking away is convenient — to trade the people’s right to the truth for a season of political advantage. That is the real loss. Not a gavel, but a conscience.

This was never about the Senate presidency. From the very beginning it was about the truth — the truth about the flood-control funds, the billions meant to shield our towns and our families from the waters, the protection that was paid for and never came. That is the fight that began all of this – one side wanted to bring it out, the other was desperate to keep it covered. And it is a fight that we intend to continue, no title or position required.

As for the Senate, there is real work waiting. I will be among the first to back the measures before us to help Mindanao rise from the earthquake — to fund the relief and the rebuilding of broken communities is exactly what a Senate is for, and it has my vote without hesitation.

But our people are also asking about the price of rice, about wages, about electricity, about the corruption that steals the services they are owed.

So I must be candid. The President himself named twenty-one priority measures for passage by June, and when our leadership changed, his Palace promised the public there would be no slowdown. Yet not one of those twenty-one appears to be set for passage today. What we will send into law instead is a national orchid and two grants of citizenship — worthy perhaps, but not the work a country in this condition is waiting for. The lone priority measure on the calendar at all, the Anti-Political Dynasty bill, sits only at interpellation. We could have done the people’s work these past weeks — had the effort gone into governing rather than into counting to thirteen. Instead, the real work waits. Cover-up time muna.

Which leaves one honest question. If we are serious about working, then let us pass serious bills. And if we are not — if this Special Session is only the Palace’s way of legitimizing its chosen Senate President — then the only thing special about it is that it proves our point despite all their denials.

The Senate is far larger than the individuals who pass through it — larger than the gavel, larger than any title. It is one of the load-bearing pillars of our democracy, the chamber where power is meant to be checked before it concentrates.

We have said from the first, and we maintain still, that what was done on June 3 was done without the quorum the Constitution requires, and was, for that reason, void. That is not bitterness. It is a constitutional conviction, and it remains where it belongs: before the Court.

The deeper concern was never the count alone. It was the hand that reached into this chamber from outside it. The independence of the Senate is not a courtesy the Executive may grant or withdraw at will; it is a wall the Constitution built on purpose. When Malacañang involves itself in who shall lead a co-equal branch, it weakens the very thing that keeps power from gathering in one place.

Let me be precise: we do not hold this against our colleague who may now be chosen. It is a charge against a precedent — that the leadership of the Senate might be settled beyond its own walls. We never disputed this chamber’s right to choose its leaders. We disputed only the manner by which it was done. Give the Senate a proper vote, with a true quorum, and we will respect its result. That is all we ever asked.

The arithmetic has changed. The Constitution has not.

And now, after speaking with Sen. Joel Villanueva, it appears our colleagues on the other side will soon have the numbers to elect a new Senate President. I will not stand in the way of that vote. No leadership in a democracy is ever permanent; every office we hold is a loan, never a possession. To whoever this chamber lawfully elects, I extend my congratulations and my cooperation in advance.

And so I will end with a message to the public — it has been the honor of my life to serve as your Senate President. Offices are temporary, titles are temporary, even majorities are temporary — but your right to the truth is not. I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this. We will find the Masterminds. We will hold them accountable.

With gratitude to GOD, who lent me this office for a season, and with a promise to you, I will go on fighting for your right to the truth beyond any office, any position, any title, for as long as I am able. That promise does not change hands. And it will outlast us all.

I may leave the position of SP, but I am honored to still be your PS — your Public Servant.