KIKO PANGILINAN TO FELLOW SENATORS:
 WE HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO

        With few remaining sessions, independent senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan implores colleagues to focus on socially important issues.

        The past week saw the senate busying itself with hearings that got extensive media coverage.

        "It's not that we are not sympathetic to victims of sex videos, or that we don't want to expose corruption. But I believe that we, as lawmakers, should prioritize matters of social equity and justice," says Pangilinan. "The CARP extension, abrogation of VFA treaty, pushing for Right to Information - all these and more demand the attention of the senate."

        Pangilinan says that while he sympathizes with sex video victims, the senate hearing on the scandal put the focus on individual personalities rather than on the issue. "It has become a circus, quite frankly. The battle has turned personal, and the senate is not the venue for vendettas."

        Pangilinan is also wary of the ethics committee's handling of the case against senator Manny Villar. "The senate is not a trial court. I want the truth to come out. But I do not support trial and persecution by publicity."

        "Matters of national importance should take precedence over everything else. Tama na ang cha-cha, tama na ang pagpapa-pogi. The people don't benefit from grandstanding."