With Sonny Angara out, what happens to cha-cha and the pulvoron scandal hearings?

The appointment of Senator Sonny Angara as the new Secretary of Education is an obvious choice. As a last-term senator with outstanding educational qualifications and a spotless public service record, it would be a shame to see this young lawyer leave government, especially at a time when we are in great need of capable individuals. Some may argue that Angara’s acceptance of the post is merely a political survival tactic. For me, his acceptance gives everyone hope that something good will happen at deped soonest.

Angara’s sterling educational qualifications put him on top of the heap of candidates for the post. The only question is—how are his managerial or administrative skills? We know he’s a lawyer, but not all lawyers are excellent managers. Deped is a bureaucratic behemoth, the biggest in the country. Safely navigating it from choppy waters require not just legal skills but in-depth experience in dealing with bureaucratic scumbags. Some would say Angara will surely be backed up by highly experienced people, some of them, experienced managers, so no worries. Well, kudos to Sonny.

With Angara out of the picture, who will now replace him as the chair of a sub-committee discussing amendments to the basic charter? Seems like, this administration quietly abandoned its previous and ardent call for charter change after they found out how angry the people were when Speaker Martin Romualdez, alongside his cousin, the President, spearheaded calls for cha-cha. With Senator Chiz Escudero at the helm as Senate president and the numbers of those pro-cha-cha senators dwindling by the minute, seems like charter change is now, officially, yet silently, dead.

What about Zubiri, the former Senate president who cried wolf when he suddenly saw himself politically isolated by his peers? Angara is one of Zubiri’s staunchest supporters, along with Senators Win Gatchalian, Nancy Binay, Joel Villanueva, and Loren Legarda. With Angara out of it, Zubiri is now exposed, possibly being pump-primed to the kill by the administration and, surprisingly, even his pro-Duterte senatorial peers.

By the way, with Zubiri now debilitated, what will happen now with the infamous “pulvoron” hearing previously conducted by Senator Bato dela Rosa? In his valedictory speech, Zubiri blamed his zealousness on the pulvoron scandal hearings as the one thing that did him in. With support slowly dwindling, will the Senate particularly Bato still pursue the hearing alleging drug use of a high government official?

This will all depend on the new Senate president, Chiz Escudero. Escudero is known as a very close friend and associate of the First Couple. He faces a very difficult situation, one in which the trust and confidence ratings of this administration are going further South as time goes by. Short of arresting the slide of these ratings, dark clouds hover, emboldening those who secretly and overtly seek the President’s destruction.

Escudero needs to overcome two challenges in the coming months. The first concerns the impression of the Senate’s independence. The coup d’etat against Zubiri visibly and seriously fractured the Senate, leading to suspicions that Escudero attained his position through the support of the First Lady.

The Senate is traditionally known as an independent pillar of our democracy, with the ability to exercise fiscalizing functions to maintain a balance of political power. The question arises whether Escudero should assert the institution’s independence or be cautious in his approach.

The second challenge is the uneasy tactical coalition the palace formed for him to become the senate president. Three or four senators, namely Senators Bato dela Rosa, Bong Go, Imee Marcos and Tolentino are to campaign for re-election. How may Escudero push for favored legislation if these four suddenly bolt out of the coalition?

If this scenario happens, then, Zubiri may actually be more politically secured than Escudero and the possibility of another coup at the Senate looms. Zubiri’s colleagues are not re-electionists and therefore, would stay relevant for the next few years more. If this becomes a numbers game, then, Escudero’s position may not be as stable as what is previously believed.