26/06/2026
The Senate on Trial
by Bea Manlangit
The Senate was built to ask difficult questions. Today, the difficult questions are being asked about the Senate itself. And perhaps the hardest question is not whether the Senate can answer them, but why so many Filipinos feel the need to ask them in the first place.
For decades, the Senate has been one of the countryโs most recognizable democratic institutions. It has investigated controversies, questioned government actions, and demanded accountability from public officials. In many ways, it was designed to be a watchdog, a body that speaks truth to power and represents the interests of the people.
But recently, the focus has changed.
Instead of asking the questions, the Senate now finds itself answering them.
As political controversies dominate public discourse, many Filipinos are starting to look beyond the headlines and ask a bigger question: Can the Senate still be trusted to act fairly? Can it still be seen as an institution that serves the public above politics?
These questions matter because democracy runs on more than laws and elections. It runs on trustโthe quiet agreement between citizens and institutions that power will be exercised with integrity even when nobody is watching.
People do not believe in institutions simply because they exist. They believe in them because they see them as fair, credible, and worthy of confidence. The Senate may continue to perform its duties, conduct hearings, and pass legislation, but public trust cannot be written into law. It has to be earned. And more importantly, it has to be protected.
That is why the issue today goes beyond any single politician, party, or political color. What is being tested is not just a decision or a controversy but the Senateโs credibility itself.
The Senate occupies a unique place in Philippine democracy. It is expected to rise above personal interests and political rivalries. Citizens may disagree with its decisions, criticize its actions, or challenge its conclusions, which is normal in any democracy. What is not normal is when people begin to question whether the institution itself is still acting independently.
Public conversations have increasingly shifted from what the Senate is doing to why people think it is doing it. Recent Senate proceedings, investigations, and political conflicts have brought the institution into public scrutiny, with many Filipinos questioning whether it is still guided by impartiality or is increasingly influenced by political interests.
Regardless of where one stands on these issues, the effect is difficult to ignore. The conversation has moved beyond the controversies themselves and toward the credibility of the institution handling them.
That alone should be a warning to the Senate.
Because institutions rarely collapse the moment they lose trust. They erode slowly, one unanswered doubt at a time.
When citizens begin questioning whose interests an institution truly serves, rebuilding confidence becomes far more difficult than maintaining it in the first place.
Whether these perceptions are accurate or not, they shape public trust. And trust is a fragile thing. It is built little by little, through years of consistency, fairness, and accountability. Yet it only takes a few moments of doubt for people to question whether the institution they once believed in has been what it claimed to be all along.
And once that skepticism settles in, every action becomes harder to defend, every decision becomes harder to explain, and every controversy leaves a deeper mark.
And when trust begins to erode, the consequences are felt far beyond the halls of government. Citizens become more cynical. Participation declines. Confidence in democratic processes weakens. Instead of seeing institutions as protectors of the public interest, people begin to see them as players in the same political game they are supposed to regulate.
That is the real issue facing the Senate today.
Whether fair or not, the growing skepticism surrounding the institution suggests that its impartiality is no longer accepted without question. For a democratic body that depends on public confidence, that may be the most serious warning of all.
The challenge is not simply proving that it has the power to act. The Constitution already grants that power. The challenge is proving that it remains worthy of the public's confidence.
Because in the end, a democratic institution is only as strong as the trust people place in it.
The Senate was built to ask difficult questions. Today, it faces perhaps its most difficult question yet: if the people begin to lose faith in the institution meant to hold others accountable, whom will they trust to hold the system accountable? ยง
Illustration by Frances Loraine Briones
is Ang Suga's column segment which publishes opinion articles written by its staff or contributed by the students, teachers, and non-teaching faculty of Cebu Normal University (CNU). You may send your work or ask questions via private message on our page.
