Daily Tribune (Philippines)

Serves them right!

- Ninez Cacho-Olivares

Knowing that some senators have realized that they are being scored daily for the reality of having a double standard over their bid to get detained Senator

Leila de Lima virtually freed by allowing her to join sessions, as well as allowing her to participat­e in legislativ­e work via teleconfer­encing — which the same request was quickly denied the political foes of their yellow President by the Senate under its then president, Franklin Drilon — they now want to toss the problem to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the matter of having their detained yellow senator join the legislativ­e body as if she were not a detainee, with all her rights as senator revived.

Minority Leader Drilon has a lot of chutzpah in authoring a resolution seeking to allow De Lima, who is currently detained on strong drug charges, to perform her legislativ­e duties through electronic means. Others are even suggesting that she should be allowed to attend sessions — and no doubt allowed too to deliver privileged speeches which she is raring to do, to destroy her archenemy, President Duterte — but without the privilege of voting.

Drilon is as hypocritic­al as De Lima, if not more so, considerin­g the fact that when the then opposition senators asked Drilon to allow

them to perform their legislativ­e duties though teleconfer­encing, the then Senate president quickly junked the plea, apart from the request of the then detained senator to fight the infamous then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales’ order to suspend them, as it is only the Senate that has the power to suspend any of its members. Did Drilon and the other yellow senators, who were then in the majority, fight for their fellow senators and even fight for the independen­ce of the Senate that is constituti­onally empowered to suspend any of its members? Of course not. They were the reigning yellows and the opposition senators, Jinggoy Estrada and then still detained now acquitted Bong Revilla, were deemed by the yellow President and his devotees in the Senate as their patron’s political foes. And so, they were politicall­y persecuted, and even portrayed — not as presumed innocents but their being guilty beyond reasonable doubt, thanks to the yellows and their yellow media that apparently say nothing today of the yellow President and his numerous sins against the people.

Sen. Bong Revilla, a clear example of the yellow Senate’s double standard and its hypocrisy, came out swinging the other day, He described as double standard and special treatment the Senate’s move to allow the detained De Lima to fully discharge her duties as a lawmaker.

“The double standard and sense of entitlemen­t of some people are frankly quite dishearten­ing,” Revilla said, stressing that he was incarcerat­ed “due to politicall­y motivated charges,” and he was denied this plea by a very vocal group that was against his participat­ion in Senate proceeding­s. “It is funny that among that group were Leila de Lima herself and some of those signatorie­s in the open letter released yesterday,” he added, referring to the joint statement signed by the yellow President, his yellow senators as well as his former executives and yellow allies.

What a laugh! These yellows call for Leila’s participat­ion in legislativ­e work, yet did not even lift a finger or raise a voice on the plight of the detained senators and they have the nerve to call for the participat­ion of their yellow senator in the Senate?

What cheek! Especially coming from the head of the group, the yellow Noynoy Aquino, who had ordered the incarcerat­ion of the then opposition senators.

The same goes for the hypocritic­al Leila de Lima, who had worked on the plunder case against them, getting even a clear thief in Benhur Luy, who was apparently pilfering some of the pork money for himself.

Imagine a mere clerk in the employ of Janet Napoles having hundreds of millions in his bank account? Even his mother, a nanny, had millions as did his brother, a seaman. Yet Luy, who was clearly coached by De Lima and Carpio-Morales, was made a state witness, along with two of his companions, who recanted their testimonie­s. These yellows in the Senate (oh yes, some of them may have changed their political color, but they chose to be yellow then) know that public sentiment is against their double standard, which may be the reason they now say that the PNP should make the decision on whether to allow De Lima to perform her legislativ­e duties.

Really, you hypocritic­al yellow senators. Since when has the PNP been given the power to decide whether an accused and detained senator should be allowed to participat­e in legislativ­e work?

Why even suggest this, when this would be an invitation to get the PNP to decide on Senate matters in the future?

The PNP now suggests that the matter should be resolved by the Supreme Court (SC).

What? The constituti­onally empowered Senate is now willing to have the precedent of giving up its power over legislativ­e matters and have Senate issues decided on by the SC? And all for a yellow alleged to have conspired with prisoners in the drug trade.

These ultra-hypocritic­al yellows in the Senate should have allowed the then opposition senators to perform their legislativ­e duties at the time. If they did so, there wouldn’t have been any problem getting the detained De Lima to perform her duties.

Serves these frigging yellows right!

“You hypocritic­al yellow senators — since when has the PNP been given the power to decide whether an accused and detained senator should be allowed to participat­e in legislativ­e work?

“Did

Drilon and the other yellow senators, who were then in the majority, fight for their fellow senators and even fight for the independen­ce of the Senate that is constituti­onally empowered to suspend any of its members?

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