Video games senators played

LAST Aug. 7, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile was seen playing Bejeweled, a tile-matching puzzle game, on his iPad. He was waiting for his turn at a Senate committee hearing about the sex-for-flight scandal involving OFWs and P-Noy diplomats.

At a US Senate committee hearing on potential use of force against Syria last Sept. 3, Sen. John McCain was caught playing poker on his iPhone.

Both made light of the separate but related incidents. Enrile, 89, told reporters, “I’m now at Level 271,” saying games like Bejeweled are effective mind exercises. McCain, 77, tweeted: “Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+hour Senate hearing-worst of all I lost!”

Hearings can be boring. Enduring boredom though, along with getting high from verbal clashes, goes with legislative work.

Enrile shut himself from sad tales about foreign affairs officials abusing power to bed with Pinays in distress. His mind was fixed on his play.

The US Senate was debating on what to do with Syria that allegedly used chemical weapons on rebels. And there was McCain playing his own high stakes in poker.

What must have drawn criticism was less the pilfered work hours and wasted taxpayers’ money than the publicized display of legislators goofing off.

Gadget etiquette

US senators earn $174,000 a year; their Filipino counterparts, from P.5 million to P6 million a year (not counting illicit income).

Sen. Miriam Santiago seeks in a resolution to limit use of electronic devices during Senate sessions or hearings.

As killjoy as the proposal sounds, that may help lawmakers who, because of the pork barrel scandal, currently hang lower in public esteem.