THIS DESERVES TO BE REPOSTED FOREVER!
Privilege speech of Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta* (as delivered)
Senate session
25 May 2026
"Even if the path becomes lonely, I will walk it. Even if the attacks become heavier, I will endure them. Even if my voice becomes inconvenient to the powerful, I will continue to speak, the way I should.
The same is true of the Senate’s investigation of the flood control scandal. That inquiry must continue. It must not be weakened. It must not be derailed. It must not be silenced. If there has been grandscale theft from the country’s coffers, then that is among the greatest sins of our modern public life. It is not ordinary corruption. It is the stealing of safety from communities that drown. It is the stealing of roads from farmers. It is the stealing of classrooms from children. It is the stealing of medicine from the sick, wages from workers, and hope from taxpayers who labor honestly while others feast on public money. No senator should be silenced when the duty is to follow the trail of the public’s money. No committee should be weakened when the task is to expose corruption. No voice should be threatened when the question before the nation is whether the billions intended for the people were ransacked by bandits of insatiable greed!
I do not fear imprisonment. I fear a country where freedom itself is imprisoned. I fear a Republic where legal processes are twisted into weapons, where dissenting voices in the Senate are mechanically trimmed down, and where the rich and powerful elite manipulate institutions so that only their chosen voices may be heard.
While others may refuse to speak because of threats, I will not, Mr. President.
I will not let fear write my narrative. I will not let intimidation decide my vote. Make me bleed, and I will still shout out to the high heavens for truth and justice. Push me against the wall, and I will still push back with all the lawful strength that conscience, evidence, faith, and duty can give me. Not with violence. Not with hatred. Not with recklessness. But with the Constitution in my hand, the law as my shield, the truth as my voice, and the Filipino people as my reason.
Even if I am the only one left standing, I will stand. Even if my voice is the last one they wish to hear, I will still speak. Even if the path becomes lonely, difficult, and costly, I will continue, because the oath I took was not ceremonial. It was not a line recited for record. It was a solemn charge from the Filipino people—to defend the Constitution, to guard public trust, and to act with courage when silence becomes convenient.
Let those who weaponize the law answer to history. Let those who steal from the people answer to justice. Let those who seek to silence dissent understand this: a senator who remembers his oath cannot be purchased by comfort, cannot be subdued by threats, and cannot be defeated by fear.
Madam President, kaya po ba nila akong ipakulong? Kayang kaya po nila. Nagawa nga po nilang umimbeto ng krimen laban sa akin.
Kamakailan lamang po, hindi pa nagtatagal. Dito rin sa bulwagang ito, somebody said, ‘sometimes you need to bend the law to be able to please the people. Am I right, Mr. Secretary Remulla?’ Secretary Remulla, then Secretary of Justice, now Ombudsman, said loudly, ‘Yes, sir.’ So pwede na nang baluktutin lahat, kagaya ng pambabaluktot na ginawa nila. Pero sinasabi ko, Madam President, they can imprison me, they can arrest me, but I tell them, they still will not win. Itaga nila yun sa bato.
Madam President, before ending, let me share the declarations of our Lord God in Isaiah 54.17:
“No weapon formed upon you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me.”
@esbinsights@gmanews Huh?! Di ba sabi ko mag hintay ka? Pine prepare pa ni manang eh🤣
Baka ikaw mismo ang hindi mo alam ang sinasabi mo?
In the interest of time - at para hindi putak ng putak si lacson at ante - pa drug test na muna si BBM - may problema ba dyan?
@mysecondglance@altGenie Anong pinagsasabi mo dyan? Hindi mo ba alam religion ng mga magnanakaw sa gobyerno? Bobo ka! O baka naman ibig mong sabihin hindi sila nabibili, kasi magnanakaw sila? Makes sense 🤭
@srsasot_ Gumagawa ng kwento yang si Ping - imbes na imbestigahan ung mga sinabi ni Co bumubuo sya ng sariling kwento na pabor kay BBM - dapat isama sya sa investigation eh.
@inquirerdotnet Kung totong maka Filipino si Pinky, bakit hindi mo I verify ung info? Hamunin mo ng drug test si BBM, napakadaling pabulaanan ung sinabi ni Imee - bakit hindi un amg gawin nyo kaysa kung ano ano pa ang sinasabi mo?
@News5PH Itong si Pinky, hindi lang basta hearsay, gumagawa talaga ng kwento. Imbestigahan mo muna ung information na nakuha mo bago ka maglabas ng speculations. Dapat imbestigahan ka rin sa sobrang pag co coverup mo.
Iglesia Ni Cristo, magsasagawa ng tatlong araw na rally para manawagan ng transparency, accountability, justice at peace. Gaganapin ito sa Quirino Grandstand mula Nobyembre 16 hanggang 18. Ayon sa tagapagsalita ng INC na si Bro. Edwil Zabala, hindi ito pangingialam sa pulitika kundi isang pagpapahayag ng damdamin sa napakalaking kasamaan na kinasasangkutan ng maraming opisyal ng gobyerno.
#NET25NewsandInformation #ASPN