NEEDLESS TO SAY, having two “houses” in Congress is just a waste of precious funds that could have been used for more beneficial projects that serve the interests of the people, not the pockets of traditional politicians.

Just imagine, according to a report from Malaya Broadsheet newspaper, the Philippine Senate’s spending hit P5.587 billion in 2022 compared to P5.039 billion the year before, or an increase of P548 million.

It was further revealed that the Senate’s 2022 financial statements showed Personnel Services, which includes salaries, allowances, and other benefits of officials and employees, went up from P2.63 billion in 2021 to P2.922 billion in 2022 – an uptick of P292 million year on year.

What is more outrageous is that the increases were likewise recorded in Travelling Expenses from P278 million to P315 million or a difference of P37 million.

And the so-called Confidential, Intelligence, and Extraordinary Expenses jumped from P443 million to P479 million or a P36 million increase.

“The increase in Travelling Expenses was due to an increase in local and foreign travels incurred by the Senators and their staff, Secretariat officials, and other employees in the pursuit of advocacies of the offices of the Senators, attend/conduct conventions, public hearings, events and activities as a result of relaxed rules on health and safety protocols,” the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

Wow. We were not born yesterday.

A senator and a congressman or member of the House of Representatives both earn P273,278 monthly.

Malaking tipid kung wala na ang Senado na puro papogi lang ang karamihan sa mga “honorable” sa Mataas na Kapulungan.

I believe it’s now time to consider the shift to a Unicameral Parliamentary system where there is only one legislative body in order to speed up the passage of significant bills like a legislated wage hike and the institution of divorce.

With the parliamentary system, even smaller political parties have the chance to shine because the choice will be based on party platforms and not on popular personalities.

But it is also very important to raise the political consciousness of the electorate and dump any form of vote-buying.

The Prime Minister who shall be the head of government shall be elected from among the “best and the brightest” of the representatives who truly serve the interests and welfare of the people.

He or she can be ousted anytime he or she betrayed the public trust through a vote of no confidence by the Parliament that is directly answerable to the people.

Perhaps, only after the Filipino people ratify the New Constitution that installs a Unitary Parliamentary Democratic Republic we can see real meaningful changes and hope that the Philippines shall be great again. (ai/mnm)