In illustrious theater of political absurdity, senators seem to have discovered a new form of legislative performance art: the budgetary vendetta. 

Take Senator Bong Revilla, who, apparently triggered by a mere traffic violation accusation, threatened to snatch the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s budget faster than an MMDA officer can issue a jaywalking ticket. It seems the senator has a unique interpretation of checks and balances – more like “checks if I don’t like you, balances if I do.”

Not to be outdone, Senator Jinggoy Estrada has donned the cap of a fiscal executioner, wielding the budgetary guillotine with reckless abandon. His latest masterpiece involves slashing the entire Commission on Human Rights budget because they dared challenge his stance on abortion. 

Nothing says democracy like holding an agency hostage until it aligns with your personal ideology.

In this riveting saga of political theatrics, it appears that wielding budget power has become the preferred weapon of choice for settling personal scores. Who needs reasoned debate when you can simply threaten an agency’s financial lifeline? It’s a brave new world of legislative pettiness and power plays, where vendettas come with a taxpayer-funded price tag.