Thoughts on the Senate Hearings

This is a waaaay belated post that shouldve come out last month. Was just too lazy to actually publish it here but for all its worth, here are some random thoughts I put down when I was watching the Senate hearings of mid to late September. Enjoy.

I loved the Senate hearings. You don’t need to use words like ‘true to life’ when describing it, because it’s real live drama and comedy right there and then. Finally a way to figure out these people via realtime impression! Anyway, I thought I’d list down some impressions before I forget them, considering we may or may not be seeing any more of these for a while depending on further events.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano – As head of the panel on the NBN deal, I thought he was fairly up to task inasmuch as most of the Senators were eager to line up to ask their questions. Truth is, I was never really impressed at the guy. He’d occasionally make some slam bang accusation against the administration, guaranteeing an audience when he makes some speech or presentation, only to result in pffft, nothing. It has a lot to do with his lack of speaking (and maybe even writing) ability, in particular, focusing on what he’s trying to say. This is a basic, I think, most politicians need to master – which after developing that, a sense of drama would then be next. I have heard and watched a lot of his speeches and so called ‘exposes’, all of which leave me aching to tweak his speech. I’d understand what he’s trying to say, and imagine how best he should say it, but instead he says something that’s completely off-base, misses the point entirely, or most of the time forks onto another topic or topics. It’s a pain to hear him talk. Sometimes I think he just has too many things he wants to say at the same time.

Sen. Mar Roxas – I was actually planning to mention Mr. Palengke later on, but I’m adding him directly under Alan Cayetano to serve as a contrast to Cayetano’s inability to express himself. If A. Cayetano cannot bring two different thoughts on a single paragraph together, Roxas on the other hand is the master of it. When he started on CHED (formerly NEDA) chair Neri, Roxas knew exactly what he was doing, with one question leading to another and to another and onto, finally, his point. It’s obvious he thought it out as if knowing what the answers would be before he asks them, leading me to wonder if he was a lawyer (I couldn’t find out if he is on his website). He displayed the thought organization needed to make a point via direct questions, and then brought on the drama big and powerful as he reached the end. Unfortunately he starts screaming when he gets near his point, but I could see it as a headline maker anyway. And even then it was ok, because sure enough he finally got the clear reply – the two or three clear statement from Neri that made you second guess his sincerity – and you feel like applauding. Sure enough, Roxas gets the headline the next day. When the papers need an image or the TV needs a two second headline video, it’s Mar Roxas we’ll see, pounding (and screaming) away as he makes his point. As such there’s no question we’re going to see more of this guy in this country’s future. He obviously knows how to work a performance and I’m glad, in this case at least, he was on the side of the truth.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal – Sen. Madrigal is a joke. I suppose any group has to have at least one person to be on the receiving end of a few laughs, and the lady brings it by the bucketful. Which is relatively ok if it weren’t for the fact that she plods on blissfully unaware that the joke’s on her, which then of course makes it become very sad. You sort of watch her like you’d watch a slow train wreck, with one hand on your face as if shielding yourself from the disaster happening before your very eyes, and the other hand resisting the urge to change the channel because, face it, you’re fascinated. I’m sure her heart is into what she is doing. It’s just that you don’t know what it is she’s doing (nor does she looks like she knows either).

Sen. JP Enrile – Sen. Enrile is the old cunning master and I am in awe at his ability, when he was questioning Joey de Venecia, to almost get his goat. With chin up, eyebrows perpetually raised and a slow taunting voice he might as well have everyone declare de Venecia a liar just on the strength of his performance. Sure enough de Venecia became defensive, which is exactly where JPE wants him to be. He plays this to the fullest, but you know he can only go so far. In the end, personal attacks are petty and shallow and whilst entertaining, prove very little. It was a good performance anyhow, and of course I can’t help but wonder how vicious JPE can be if he really had a good argument to support him.

Sen. Joker Arroyo – Somehow it makes you think, when Sen. Arroyo asked if the ZTE deal could merely be cancelled outright instead, that the man was looking for a compromise between the truth – seekers and the administration, whom he has inexplicably allied himself with. Sen. Arroyo would have been my idol if it weren’t for that sad fact. God knows what it is that makes men change their minds, and it is only God I fear who’d know what made Joker Arroyo align himself with lies. As such I feel he would always find himself to be the person trying to find compromises between the two factions like he was at that hearing. I wonder if he consoles himself with that role, because that surely can’t be enough to please the man I thought he was.

I’ll continue with Part II at a later date.

One thought on “Thoughts on the Senate Hearings”

  1. i wonder what’s going to happen to j-j-j-jamby during the next elections?

    they’ll have to come up with a catchier song and more money to ensure her slot this time around.

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