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COULD INTERPARLIAMENTARY COURTESY BE WAIVED? Let us get this straight from the start: interparliamentary courtesy is a custom , not a law . It is an unwritten practice, an understanding of mutual respect between the Senate and the House of Representatives. No provision in the Constitution, no statute in our books, imposes it. Therefore, it follows logically that it can be waived—especially when the national interest is at stake. Yet in practice, this courtesy has become a shield. A shield against accountability, against transparency, and, in some cases, against public scrutiny. When a member of one chamber is summoned to the other—say, a congressman invited to a Senate inquiry—the usual escape hatch is this courtesy card: “We cannot compel them; out of respect to co-equal bodies.” Respect is noble, but should it be weaponized against the people’s right to know? Consider the absurdity of some cases. Certain party-list representatives, elected supposedly to amplify the voices of the marg...

THE ORIGINAL PURPOSES OF THE PARTY LIST SYSTEM Several Party-List Organizations (PLOs) have recently been dragged into scandals such as the flood control projects mess. What’s ironic is that many of the so-called “representatives” implicated in these scams are not from marginalized sectors at all. Instead, reports show that some of these groups were funded, organized, and even controlled by wealthy individuals who had no business claiming to represent farmers, laborers, or indigenous peoples. Because of this, the Party-List System (PLS)—once heralded as a beacon of social justice—has earned a bad reputation. Now, many Filipinos are calling for its outright abolition. Frankly, I am tempted to join that call. But on second thought, scrapping the system altogether would mean depriving the genuinely marginalized of the very representation that the Constitution promised them. Isn’t that another form of marginalization? So where do we stand? Reform, not abolition. But then the hard question:...

MONITORING AND REPORTING THE NATIONAL BUDGET Here in the Philippines, everything boils down to the national budget. It is the single most important policy document the government produces every year, and yet it remains one of the least understood by ordinary citizens. We complain about poor public services, but often forget that every project, every school, every hospital upgrade, every farm subsidy—all of it—depends on what is written (or left out) of the General Appropriations Act. This is why the Bantay Budget campaign was such an important initiative when it emerged in the early 2000s. Launched by a coalition of civil society organizations—among them Social Watch Philippines and the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI)—it aimed to make the budget process more transparent and more participatory. At a time when citizens felt excluded from national decision-making, the Bantay Budget campaign created a space for ordinary Filipinos, experts, and advocacy groups to have a voice in how p...

WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF CORRUPTION? Most of us use the words graft and corruption interchangeably, but I would argue that there is an important distinction. To me, corruption is the cause, while graft is the effect. Corruption is the temptation; graft is what happens when someone gives in. Think of it this way: when a public official demands money from a citizen in exchange for a signature, that is solicitation . When a citizen slips an envelope to an official in exchange for approval, that is bribery . Both involve the exchange of money—but notice the direction of the temptation. In solicitation, the official dangles the bait; in bribery, the citizen offers it. Either way, when money changes hands in the context of public service, the result is graft. From a moral perspective, corruption resembles the Christian concept of temptation. Temptation itself is not sin—it becomes sin only when one gives in. Similarly, a public official could be offered a bribe but refuse it. In tha...

  WHAT IS PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING? Everything in the Philippine government eventually traces back to the national budget, or what we formally call the General Appropriations Act (GAA). Without money, there can be no policies, no programs, and no projects. This makes the budget the single most important expression of government priorities. In theory, our district representatives—yes, the congressmen we elect—are supposed to consult us about what should be in the budget. After all, they are our voice in Congress. In reality, though, such consultations rarely happen. Perhaps it is too naïve to expect them to knock on doors and ask us: “What do you want funded this year?” But here’s the irony—mechanisms already exist for them to do exactly that. They could organize town hall meetings in their districts. And if distance or logistics is the issue, we now live in an era of Zoom calls, Facebook Live, and online surveys. Consultation is not rocket science anymore; it just requires political...

WHAT IS CIVIC EDUCATION? When I was in high school in the United States, I took a civics course as part of the regular curriculum. It was basic but foundational: how the government works, what rights we enjoy, and what duties we owe as citizens. History tells us that the Americans introduced civic education to the Philippines in 1898. More than a century later, we must ask: has it done us any good? Vlogger and historian Leloy Claudio makes a distinction that I agree with—what we need is not just voter education, but civic education. The difference may seem subtle, but it is important. Voter education focuses on how to cast a ballot properly. Civic education is broader: it teaches why your vote matters, how institutions function, what your rights are, and how you can hold leaders accountable. In short, it is about building active, informed citizenship. Some prefer the term “citizenship education,” which also makes sense. Whatever we call it, the essence remains the same: learning our ci...