When it rains, it pours

Marc Nathaniel Servo

After several months of shortchanged justice in the Senate, the minority finally pulled the brakes as they reclaimed power abused by the Duterte bloc.

On September 8, veteran Senator Tito Sotto successfully ousted then-Senate President Chiz Escudero after receiving support from 15 senators in a surprising move by the minority to reverse the situation after controversies mounted against Escudero.

To be frank, the coup was long overdue; Escudero sold his loyalty to the Dutertes in exchange for the third-highest position in the nation.

Alongside Duterte allies, he delayed and then archived the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte. In addition, he also allegedly inserted a 142 billion-peso budget in the appropriations for the Senate this year, which was reportedly poured to Bulacan, Davao, and his bailiwick, Sorsogon. He also gave the important Blue Ribbon committee leadership to Senator Rodante Marcoleta, who averted his justice to the lower congress, while several senators tied with flood-control projects watched in the safety of their seats.

Thankfully, these controversies bloated enough to allow the minorities to push for a restructuring of the Senate, with the Duterte bloc pulled to the backseat, and Senator Ping Lacson finally leading the crucial Blue Ribbon committee.

For the minority, the saying, “when it rains, it pours,” holds true indeed.

Reverting justice’s gaze

If you could surmise, all those who opposed Sotto’s return as Senate President are related to the Dutertes one way or another: Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Joel Villanueva, Imee Marcos, Jinggoy Estrada, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Robinhood Padilla, Escudero, and Marcoleta.

Cayetano is among top defenders of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war then, and has lobbied for his house arrest following ICC arrest in March; Villanueva is endorsed by FPRRD as a senator in 2022, and has supported VP Duterte’s budget amid issues of corruption within her office; Marcos, unlike her brother, remains in close contact with the Dutertes; Estrada criticized FPRRD’s house arrest and supported the nullification of Vice President impeachment case; while Dela Rosa, Go, Padilla, and Marcoleta are long-time Duterte allies in the Senate.

Among the surnames, Estrada, Go, Villanueva, Escudero, and Marcoleta are alleged to have connections with the anomalous flood-control funding. However, with Marcoleta at the helm of the blue ribbon, his gaze averted from his peers, and instead, attacked the congressmen in a hypocritical manner.

Isn’t it odd that the House of Representatives were the ones to question the former Department of Public Works and Highways engineer Brice Hernandez for Estrada and Villanueva’s connection to the flood control issue?

Lawrence Lubiano of Centerway Construction, the top election donor of Escudero, was also put in the hot seat by Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno in the lower chamber trial, while Marcoleta oddly focused more on budget insertions following the revelations of Congressman Toby Tiangco.

While these representatives are indeed anomalous, isn’t it only natural that you first check your backyard before questioning your neighbors?

The problem isn’t merely a matter of prioritizations, but that the Duterte bloc held utmost power in the Senate, and under former president Rodrigo Duterte, the anomalies within the DPWH began.

The Duterte bloc treated the Senate as their playground—from supporting the vice president’s anomalous funding, to voiding her impeachment raps, and the rain of criticisms after FPRRD’s arrest. With the power of the Duterte clan gained under Rodrigo’s term, the handpicked officials are able to influence the decisions of the Congress, and earn billions of dirty money from it.

Well, even before, the department was already known to be among the most corrupt parts of the government. According to a research by a civic society group that backtracked years of DPWH budget insertions, Arroyo and Aquino’s terms amounted to 74.9 billion and 18.7 billion respectively. The rise began under Duterte, with the insertions reaching 102.4 billion, which further ballooned midway under Marcos term to 540 billion.

Some even call DPWH contracts the new “pork barrel.” As Duterte allies, they naturally benefited a lot from these corruptions. Heck, Villanueva, Estrada, and Marcoleta are even involved with the PDAF scam.

So, what do we expect from these familiar names? Cover-ups and cover-ups.

With the changes within the Senate, justice and accountability may finally return. As the new head of the Blue Ribbon committee, Sen. Lacson, who exposed the systematic corruption within DPWH, is integral to cracking down on the flood control issues in the country.

Worries and Expectations

More than the flood-control issue, there are other expected changes with the restructuring of Congress. Duterte bloc’s reduction to a senate minority meant that their influence in Senate decisions will plummet, so Escudero and his peers will likely pay the price for the alleged budget insertions and flood-control embezzlement.

DPWH, as the second-largest receiver of funding last year, shall be looked into after the flood-control projects fiasco, which may open the possibility of redistribution to previously underfunded sectors of the country.

There are also positive expectations on the rerun of the impeachment case against VP Duterte. Although there are still some Duterte allies in the Senate majority, with their weakening hold on Congress, the success of the impeachment is assured if it resurfaces next year.

This is considering that a Sotto-led chamber will be impartial in its proceedings against other government officials. After all, his return alongside Lacson is very questionable, with the possibility of a 2028 presidency bid after their loss in 2022. While they flipped the table for righteous indignation, it is also likely grandstanding for the next national polls.

Overall, the outcome of the Senate shakeup is a positive development—but we should not let this go over our heads. While the Dutertes are losing steam, Marcos remains unaffected when in fact, these problems are deeply entrenched in his governance. We should not allow the President to hide safely at the backdrop of entangled anomalies within his administration—because he is half of the controversy itself.

Marcos wantonly distributed flood control budget without a care in the world, he purposely sought truce with the Dutertes to block the impeachment, and amid the budget crisis, his office remains benefiting of unprogrammed funds which make up the highest portion of the 2025 budget—and he gets to run away with the problems he made, enjoying his international tour.

The thing is, a vlog and dramatic voice of disappointment does not make up for the billion-peso losses, not when you caused so many problems in the country. Accountability seems far-fetched unless our politicians recognize that as much as the Dutertes, the Marcoses had their own roles in the controversy.

At the root of this far-fetchedness is the new senate majority— a roster merely conjoined by their own interests, with names like Villar, Ejercito, Cayetano, and Lapid in the midst. While the sudden turn of events is good, it is likely to lose steam before seeking the real price with the Marcoses.

But the show is just about to begin. Let’s hope that the former minority’s co-optation with other surnames in the majority does not dull their resistance to the ruling party—that as they direct justice to the Dutertes, they do not forget the Marcoses