The Senate’s Unchanging Mandate Amidst Changing Times
Allow me to begin my remarks by sharing with you the acceptance speech of then-Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, delivered nearly 108 years ago on October 16, 1916.
Quezon’s words spoke through the ages to future senators and served as immortal advice on how to carry out the burden of leadership, and to honor the gift of the mandate of the people. In his words, he said:
“We are here today to serve the people, the way the people themselves want to be served. (But) It is necessary, however, to keep in mind that a different procedure is expected from the Senate than from a popular chamber. Wherever the bicameral legislature exists, it is assumed that the Lower House will be like a very sensitive thermometer that will register, in its action, even the slightest and most momentary changes in popular sentiment. (On the other hand), the Senate must represent the serene, mature, and prudent judgment of public opinion. In other words, the Senate must be a sure, unshakable dam destined to contain the exaltations and overflow of popular passion. If the voice of the people is the voice of God, it must be enclosed in the safe channel of serene reflection. Indeed, the most horrendous crime recorded in history—a crime that made the sky cry and the earth tremble— was a crime committed at the behest of an obstinate people, at a time when fanaticism had blinded reason and abolished all human feeling: I am referring to the crucifixion at Golgotha. Our steps must be safe and numbered. We must act when we are certain that that opinion is conscientiously formed. In case of conflict between private interests, we must harmonize the demands of the heterogenous elements that make up our society, so that the general interest prevails. We must maintain the stability of our institutions and be the safeguard of public and private rights. The merit of our work must not be judged by the number of laws we dictate but by their quality. It is even preferable to suffer the evils of a current law than to try to remedy them with a law made hastily, without the due and careful study that the function of legislating entails, since with laws of this kind we will cause greater harm and perhaps even irreparable injury. Our work will be constructive, not destructive, and we will not destroy the old until we are sure that the new is better. In any case, we should never put the interests of the party before the interests of the community. We must aspire to be the guardians of the good faith of the Filipino people towards other peoples, for which we are obliged to preserve it intact. Our conduct must be one of justice, consideration, and brotherly affection, not only for our own but also for strangers.”
Esteemed members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Cabinet here present, my dear colleagues in the Senate both present and past, my fellow workers in government, ladies and gentlemen, mga minamahal kong kababayan:
Dios marhay na aga sa saindo gabos! Good morning.
After more than one hundred years, Quezon’s words remain true and timeless.
He was in effect, writing this chamber’s job description and injecting it with purpose—a template by which we should do our duty today.
True enough, what the Senate did through war and peace, upheavals and prosperity, debacles and development, followed this code of conduct that Quezon laid down.
Today, it is worth remembering the four distinct roles of the Senate that Quezon envisioned:
First, the Senate is a chamber of sobriety and prudence. We temper the passions of public opinion and proceed in a rational and deliberate manner. We do not immediately embrace populism that may ultimately harm the people.
Second, the Senate focuses on quality, rather than quantity. We legislate only if those existing are no longer sufficient, or if no other solution suffices.
This is not a factory that mass produces laws for the sake of showing them on the scoreboard, yet does not, in any way, improve our people’s lives.
Third, the Senate puts the interests of our people over those of political parties or personal ambitions. Bayan muna bago sarili!
Fourth, in matters of foreign relations, the Senate helps maintain the good ties of our people with other nations, even as we put forward our national interests.
However, this is not to say that nothing has changed. For indeed, much has changed since the time of Quezon—and most of them have been for the better.
For example, out of 252 individuals who became Senators since 1916, 91% are men, and only 9% are women. Women did not even have the right to vote or be voted into office at that time.
Now, we have seven members of the stronger gender in this chamber, representing more than 25% of all our members, who not only vote bills into law but also may vote them into oblivion as well, should they so desire.
Mindanao then was a distant frontier in the margins of power and given only token representation, averaging only 7% of the chamber’s membership since 1916. Today, Mindanao is well and ably represented with 20% of the chamber’s membership.
In this final regular session of the 19th Congress, following Quezon’s advice, we will set aside items which merely dissipate our energy and divide the public.
For this same reason, pending bills on charter change will be placed in the backburner, and will follow the ordinary and regular process of legislation, if at all.
In its stead, bills which can effect the same result—but without the needless political noise and bickering — will be prioritized. This will allow us to focus our energy on measures which the people truly need.
We will tackle items in the common legislative agenda forged with the Executive, and those nurtured by both the House or the Senate for legislation is not a one-way process.
We are not mere processors of proposals, but also proponents of them. And the Senate is best as we know when it incubates brave ideas and initiates bold legislation.
On this question of prioritization, I humbly submit a three-way test:
- Will it make the lives of our people easier? Makatutulong bai to para mapadali ang buhay ng ating kababayan?
- Will it help us move faster? Mapabibilis ba nito na makarating tayo sa ating mga mithiin, pangarap, at mga layunin sa buhay hindi lamang para sa ating mga sarili pero higit pa sa ating minamahal sa buhay, komunidad, at bansa?
- Will it make our people’s burdens lighter? Mapagagaan ba nito ang pasanin ni Juan Dela Cruz na sa kasalukuyan ay hindi maikakaila ang pasaning napakabigat na?
This applies as well in deciding whether we need to legislate in the first place. For the Senate does not only propose new laws but also disposes of needless or obsolete ones.
For me, the foremost task of Senators is to be the “chief commonsense officers” of the government. “Commonsense”, for me, is what would bring ease to the lives of our countrymen.
Ang hirap lang palagi sa “commonsense”, hindi madalas common. Hindi po nakikita sa maraming ahensiya, opisyal, at empleyado ng pamahalaan. Rason para pangunahan ito ng Senado upang bigyang balance at tamang pananaw ang bawat suliranin at problema na hahanapan natin ng solusyon.
Let this standard be used in measuring every government proposal that comes our way WILL IT MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR THE FILIPINOS?
In fact, this very standard embodies the work that we do in the Senate. We trim lengthy provisions, reduce projected costs, test for constitutionality, and ensure that stakeholders’ concerns are addressed.
We do this because legislative haste often leads to time and resources wasted. Bills that are not forged in the fire of debate often come out half-baked and, eventually, require remedial sequels.
Sisiguraduhin natin na pulido ang mga batas na makakarating sa mesa ng Pangulo.
Pangunahin dito ang ating pagpapasya sa taunang budget.
Dahil pinagpapawisan ng taumbayan ang buwis na popondo dito, at papasanin ng kanilang mga anak ang pambayad sa utang na pupuno dito, dapat lamang na ang trilyon-trilyong piso na bubunuin nila ay maghatid ng ginhawa sa kanilang buhay.
To write laws is not the only duty of the Senate. It also has the duty to right wrong policies. To this end, the Senate will continue to probe irregularities. Relief will be provided by the Senate, and justice will be pursued by the Senate without letup through its committees.
All the things I have thus far mentioned exemplify the independence of the Senate.
Ang unang bukambibig ng lahat ng tumayong pangulo ng Senado ay ang panatang pananatilihin ang sariling paninindigan at malayang kapasyahan ng Senado.
But to me, this is a pointless reiteration. It restates the obvious and repeats the self-evident. Daily, our independence is live-streamed and blasted to all media platforms where you see your senators who can only be won over to a cause if you debate them, and not dictate upon them.
It conveys one unchanging truth: that senators are subjects only of the people, and subsidiary of no other branch, party, person, or interest.
This time-honored tradition is what makes our institution strong and respected. We embrace the full ventilation of views, either in contra or in conformity, whether by those in the majority or in the minority.
But at the end of the day, we vote. We divide the house, but only on issues, out of policy differences. Never should we allow politics to keep our house permanently divided.
Ito ang Senadong kailangan ng taumbayan, sa puntong ito ng ating kasaysayan.
This independence which we treasure and enjoy is what we also desire for our nation. Make no mistake about it, this Senate is unanimous and unbending in defending our country’s independence and sovereignty.
Tayo’y makikipagkaibigan pero hindi tayo pasisiil. Tayo’y makikipag-usap, pero hindi tayo magpapaapi.
As such, we shall pass laws such as the Maritime Zone and Sea Lanes Act that will strengthen our claims over what is ours.
We will strengthen our military, not to ignite any conflict, but in order to secure our peace.
We will take peaceful measures to defend our people’s right to sail in our seas and fish in our waters—as what our ancestors had done, and what our children and our grandchildren shall likewise do.
Indeed, we must work towards bridging these troubled waters.
I am confident that we shall overcome whatever disagreements we may have with any of our neighbors, given our centuries-old amicable relations with them, where this point in time in our current history is, to me, a mere speck.
And in the same way, we shall be a Senate which bridges social divides and builds a path to prosperity for every Filipino.
Our people are overworked, underpaid, and overburdened. A comfortable life has clearly eluded them for generations. Their dreams and struggles, more than any policy paper, provide what our legislative agenda should contain and should inspire us to work even harder.
I say that it is time to reframe our work—and pivot to laws that will make life of the Filipino easier.
Uulitin ko, bawat tanong, bawat panukalang batas, bawat debate na sasambitin natin sa kapulungang ito, sagutin natin sa tatlong simpleng katanungan: mapapabilis ba, at mapadadali ba ang ating gawain? Mapagagaan ba ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino?
I have noticed that we have passed a raft of laws that ease the burden on big business. Pati ease of paying taxes, at ease of unloading bad loans, meron tayo niyan.
Bakit walang ease of commuting and connecting? Ease of finishing school and finding work? Ease of health care for the sick? Bakit walang ease of acquiring justice? Bakit waang ease in providing food, not only food, but affordable food for our families?
Let us do the heavy work, and make hard decisions to unburden the nation and uplift every Filipino. This is our unchanging mandate.
In this manner, we can—and shall be—the Senate that Quezon has envisioned.
I apologize if I have taken much of your time already. Allow me, therefore, to close and conclude, borrowing again from Quezon:
“A Senate which serves the people, the way the people themselves want to be served. A Senate which works for the people, and which is worthy of their support. We cannot fail, for our failure is their failure, and our defeat is their defeat.”
For me, the reverse is also true. Our triumph, as a country and people, will be their triumph as well. And in this regard, your Senate shall not falter, and your Senate will always prevail in the name of the Filipino people.
Maraming salamat, at mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!