Solon was a great Athenian statesman and lawmaker. He is remembered for paving the way for democracy in the city of Athens and would later on be credited for being the father who raised Athens to the pinnacle of its glory
. Because of this, his name is often used as an alternative to refer to congressmen but are these men as great as the original Solon? If there is anything to be sure of in Philippine politics, it is that there is always one particular person of the year. For this one, it is hands down, Senator Leila De Lima. With the “solons” of the House of Representatives probing her alleged involvement in illegal drug trade from within the New Bilibid Prison to them badgering her of her past relationship with her former bodyguard, one cannot help but raised the question of when must we draw the line. Even the Vice President could not help but criticize the House after they grilled De Lima’s former lover, Ronnie Dayan, regarding their sex life and how much he had loved her. “Tiningnan ko online yung mga questions na tinanong… Parang totally unnecessary, bastos na talaga yung iba. Wala siya dapat lugar sa institution na nirerespeto natin,” Vice President Robredo said in one report from the Inquirer, even going on to say that she did not watch the hearing in its entirety. That; however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Before even actually getting Dayan to testify, an alleged tape of Senator De Lima and Dayan went viral online and was almost aired at the House for all the “solons” to watch. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez defended the Congress, however, and argued that it was fair and only for the sake of proving De Lima indeed had an affair with her former driver. Sometimes in arguments, others use means such as discrediting their opponents to further prove their point. What one needs to see though is how this is entirely different from personally attacking the other person. What good would it bring the gentlemen of our Congress had they watched the so-called scandal? How relevant was asking Dayan the intensity of his love for Senator De Lima? During the beginning of the hearing, Representative Reynaldo Umali immediately cleared out any misconceptions that this was all a show orchestrated to humiliate Senator De Lima. “This is not about De Lima,” he had said, “This is about the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison.” With all that has happened and is still happening, however, raises the question of whether or not it still is about the NBP drug trade. Solon was a great statesman and lawmaker. He paved the way for Athens towards greatness and in memory of him the honorable members of our Congress are privileged by being referred to a name as great as is. Do they deserve to be correlated to such a man or will they never grow past beyond his shadow?
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