Bam and Kiko: Pragmatism or party-building?
Gdansk—It was a long night. Sleeping in a World War II era hospital-turned-hotel at the heart of the former German city of Danzig was eerily haunting. Situated at the far end of a dark corridor, with lights flickering only upon sensing movement, it was easy to conjure things in the shadows. Then came a string of troubling messages from folks back home. “I really cannot!” cried out a senior campaign expert, who helped propel one of the liberal candidates into the Senate this year. “Ping Lacson and Tito Sotto are from the administration, yet they chose to join the minority. But Bam and Kiko want to join the majority with Chiz Escudero?”
Initially, I was a tad skeptical about earlier rumors of Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, and, even more so, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan basically abandoning the lone genuine opposition senator, Risa Hontiveros, in favor of a Senate President, who has drawn the ire of countless jurists, activists, and netizens by brazenly soft-pedaling the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. “Believe me, Risa is extremely sad. She just can’t do anything about it,” a well-informed contact back home familiar with behind-the-scenes developments told me.
“Have a good nap, then one big fight again later,” another friend, who is extremely close to Hontiveros’ camp, told me shortly after sharing a survey result that showed the progressive opposition senator also happens to be the most popular one. “We are hesitant to post since it would make us look a tad defensive,” she added. Her colleagues, however, were already drenched in a spirited public debate with some liberal stalwarts, who had already begun an ”apologist” campaign for the prospective entry of Aquino and Pangilinan into the Escudero coalition, which also happens to be dominated by the so-called “Duterte bloc.”
Pangilinan almost confirmed the “rumblings” when he categorically pushed back against critics by challenging them to either question his track record and integrity or simply end “all the chatter, the brickbats” so he could “focus on what I said I would do and simply walk the walk.” Aquino, however, maintained that the three progressive senators are “still together in the independent bloc.” Similar to Pangilinan, however, he made it clear that getting the leadership of relevant committees—education in his case—was crucial to fulfilling his duty. Both senators also sought to reassure everyone that their principled stance on VP Sara’s impeachment trial will remain intact. In a press conference, Hontiveros tried to project equanimity: “I am not hurt because, as I said, I will continue to fight.” Her cadence and demeanor, however, said it all. It just confirmed what I was told by insiders.
But can anyone blame her for any profound disappointment?
After all, the whole point behind supporting candidates such as Aquino and Pangilinan was to ensure that the Senate is not filled with traditional politicians and factotums. It was about ending Hontiveros’ solitude as the sole conscience of the once august chamber. Moreover, is joining the majority—enabling Escudero’s impunity—the only way to be an effective senator? Mind you, Hontiveros oversaw some of the most consequential hearings in recent Senate history, culminating in the arrest of Pastor Quiboloy, exposé of countless foreign agents, and shutdown of several Chinese online casinos. It’s worth noting that former senator Leila de Lima refused to join—out of political conviction—the majority bloc in the Congress, where serving in the opposition has far more serious drawbacks than in the 24-member Senate.
Pragmatism can’t be an excuse for perpetuating a style of politics that got us Duterte and Marcos in the past decade. Lest we forget, it’s the same ”pragmatism” that also saw the liberal opposition so toothless in the face of Duterte’s assault on both our democratic institutions and progressive stalwarts such as De Lima. I’m all for securing fancy committees—though perhaps one should just serve in the presidential Cabinet to have a more direct impact. But vacuous pragmatism will only reinforce the status quo if it comes at the expense of developing a genuine progressive alternative movement. Mind you, the Duterte bloc has been so successful in the Senate and beyond precisely because they’re willing to stick together despite all the pragmatic drawbacks of challenging the incumbent administration. Elections are over. It’s time for conviction politics.
