The walk-out staged by members of the minority bloc in the Sangguniang Panlungsod Friday brings the city council to a point of no return. It now hangs in the balance that may not hold long enough for both ends of the political spectrum. This is not about the legitimacy or lack of it of the walk-out. There is an overdose on the pros and cons of the act. It was a shameful act or an honorable thing to do depending on one's political orientation. Of course, the minority bloc should drop all pretensions that it was a walk-out. There is no doubt that it was and only those who stand to benefit from it would fail to see it for what it is. It is not so much because one of those from the minority was signaling their leader to bang the gavel when the deliberations started to heat up.
It was their refusal to return to the session hall when the majority stood pat that gave their script away. So much for that then. Which leads us back to the question on what happens next after this, a question that will have to be answered in the next few days. On one hand, the majority bloc will have to find a way to deal with the minority's penchant to flee from the battle scene and resume firing away in the media. It is becoming too obvious that the minority is in no mood to lock horns in the session hall. Attending sessions of course should be the concern of every councilor whether he belongs to the majority of the minority. In the first place, they are paid to make laws, not resort to walkathons whenever they are on the losing end. On the other hand, the minority should better shop for another solution to their problem.
Taking refuge in the cliché about the tyranny of numbers is starting to be irritating. Democracy has and always been about majority so they better act their age. Lest they forget, however, the issue is no longer the legitimacy of the loan but the very institution that they are all part of. If the councilors cannot conduct themselves in a manner befitting their stature as honorable members, then they better resign from their posts. In a time when people are getting impatient over the theatrics of lawmakers who act as though they were trying out for an acting job instead of serving as legislators as they are paid for, an impasse is the worst thing that can happen. It's time to walk the talk. Mind you, we don't mean a walk-out. |
