“Maybe the Honorables can step away from the heated hearings even for a day.”
These past few weeks, headlines of an investigating committee set by the Philippine House of Representatives have dominated the news cycle. The Quad committee, composed of Reps. Ace Barbers (Dangerous Drugs), Stephen Paduano (Public Accounts), Dan Fernandez (Public Order) and Benny Abante (Human Rights), are trying to ferret out the truth in the link between POGOs and the war on drugs to the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. Resource persons have attended to testify, defend themselves, or even lie in front of the body.
So far, the congressional Quad has spurred out of control. Yet, somehow, they maintain the same level of mundane intensity as to the Senate’s investigation.
Criticisms aimed at them for berating the female suspects are unavoidable. Observers could not help but question the intent of the committee’s supposed mission of uncovering hidden gems inside Guo’s Pandora box. One professor, in particular, wrote in his post if the entire inquiry was made ‘in aid of legislation’?
Everything is made possible, even on the worst terms, in the spur of that momentary heat – of the burning desire to (mis)perform their sworn jobs in the committee.
For now, let me try and cool the heat to a place not so far away from here.
I know a certain “Quad” that is far from intense.
In the sprawling, giant lands located in the heart of Metro Manila’s busy district, you can find a complex that offers its own kind of sophistication. The shops, all authentic, even foreign. The food, palatable. The price, worthy for the alta sociedad. Imbued with warm colors that denote its luxury, you could try and find this as a paradise of its own.
You take a drive of a place from, say, Quezon City. It would normally take you half an hour to have your journey done from the north down to the south’s premier commercial center. You see a tower covered with greenish glass panels with a hotel that has created its own familiarity. A small park, where one could presumably sit, is also located adjacent to the 4-level shopping heaven. One thing, then, is for sure – you have now reached the Quad.
As you enter the place, you are greeted by the cold breeze with the smell of bread coming from the first bakery you see. Imbued with materialities filled with class, you can now find the luxury of time to look for an ATM, grab your card, and dial the passcode to access the money in the form of designer bags and shoes, a new iPhone or a subscription plan, or anything else that denotes your style.
Try to take a few walks, play a soothing jazz tune in your head, and pretty sure, you could try to sense a soothing relief from the hustle of these hearings.
And yes, don’t pin the blame on me if this doesn’t work, not even for a nudge!
The sophistication of this Quad is transmitted into the kind of luxury its current name now possesses. Their alternatives to the usual fare offered by its rivals tend to be a notch higher, though they try to stay in the middle. Apart from its shops, the scenery located in its interior tries to keep its high taste despite its changes. The Quad of then has transformed itself into an abode of luxury now in the name of Glorietta.
This kind of posh living is what the Quad Committee needs for their own relaxation.
I would humbly ask each and every one of them to step away from the heated microphones, even for a day. I would like to take them out of the session hall and into an extensive walk inside and within Glorietta’s borders. Heck, I could even try and serenade them with an “Ipanema”! This, I believe, could help them ease back into their own sanity before they spar again with their heated exchange.
If this sanity walk barely helps at all, they could just take the rollercoaster ride and scream in their seats.
Rolando Ng III tries to cure his haywire from the news beat by writing essays beyond the headlines. You may reach him at [email protected].
