STUDENTS REVOLT VS. CAYETANO, LEGARDA AFTER SENATE COUP AND BATO ESCAPE DRAMA
By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — Fury is erupting across major universities after students and youth groups blasted the new Senate leadership led by Alan Peter Cayetano and Loren Legarda over the dramatic Senate power shift tied to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte and the controversial escape of Ronald Dela Rosa from Senate custody.
What began as political maneuvering inside the Senate has now exploded into a full-blown backlash from students, alumni, and youth organizations accusing senators of turning one of the country’s highest institutions into a “sanctuary for impunity.”
In one of the strongest symbolic protests yet, students from Assumption College San Lorenzo successfully pushed for the removal of Legarda’s portrait from the school’s prestigious Wall of Empowered Women.
The wall honors alumnae recognized not only for achievement, but for “character, responsibility, and moral courage.”
But according to the Assumption Student Council, Legarda’s recent political actions no longer reflect those values.
An empty frame now reportedly marks the spot where her portrait once stood — a powerful image that quickly spread online and fueled national debate.
The student council called on Legarda to “reflect on the principles she once upheld” and urged her to recommit herself to accountability and justice.
At the University of the Philippines, something almost unheard of happened.
Two rival student political groups — Samasa and Tugon — set aside years of political rivalry to jointly condemn Cayetano’s leadership of the Senate.
The groups demanded his resignation, accusing him of turning the Senate into a stage for:
- political theater,
- confusion,
- brinkmanship,
- and institutional chaos.
What made the protest even more striking was the fact that Tugon is the same political formation where Cayetano himself once served as a student leader decades ago.
The groups said that when even a politician’s own political roots and former allies publicly reject him, it signals that democratic boundaries may have already been crossed.
Critics accused the new Senate leadership of prioritizing political survival over accountability after Dela Rosa resurfaced inside the Senate following months in hiding over reports of an ICC arrest warrant tied to the Duterte drug war.
After voting in the leadership shakeup that removed then Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Dela Rosa was immediately placed under “protective custody” by the Senate.
Cayetano insisted authorities could not arrest Dela Rosa without a Philippine court warrant.
Days later, chaos erupted inside the Senate complex after tensions involving NBI agents and Senate security personnel escalated into reports of warning shots being fired.
Hours after the incident, Dela Rosa disappeared from Senate premises.
Critics now believe the lockdown and confusion may have allowed him to slip away unnoticed.
Former UP student leaders delivered one of the sharpest criticisms against Cayetano.
They argued that the Senate leadership cannot:
- invoke Senate powers to shield someone from arrest,
- claim responsibility for his custody,
- obstruct enforcement efforts,
- and then simply deny responsibility once that person disappears.
According to the groups:
“At that point, you are no longer defending institutions or the rule of law. You are actively undermining them.”
The student organizations described the incident as one of the most embarrassing moments in recent Senate history and blamed Cayetano for what they called a catastrophic failure of leadership and judgment.
Other youth organizations soon joined the growing outrage.
The coalition Youth Against Kurakot (YAK) accused the Senate of putting the public at risk by shielding Dela Rosa instead of allowing lawful processes to proceed.
Student leaders from Polytechnic University of the Philippines also criticized Cayetano, saying he appeared more focused on political maneuvering than preparing the Senate for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
For critics, the leadership shakeup now represents more than a simple Senate reorganization.
To them, it symbolizes how political alliances, institutional power, and personal loyalties may be overriding accountability at one of the most volatile moments in recent Philippine political history.
Despite the backlash, Cayetano defended the Senate leadership change, insisting the chamber needed a “new direction” amid what he described as a national crisis.
He denied accusations that the move was intended to derail the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
But for many students and critics, the damage has already been done.
And now, the outrage is no longer confined inside Senate halls — it is spreading through campuses, youth organizations, and a new generation openly questioning whether the country’s institutions are still serving justice, or merely protecting.
ia/xf
