The Senate shooting incident and the political storm surrounding it have cost the country something far more valuable than any political narrative being built around it—the time and focus that should have been devoted to the real and enduring problems of ordinary Filipinos, former Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan said Saturday.
“Nawalan tayo ng panahon para asikasuhin ‘yung mga tunay na problema ng bayan. Ano ito? Pagkain. Edukasyon. Pananamit. Pabahay. Pagpapagamot, public health,” Honasan said in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday.
Honasan said the shooting incident—and the avalanche of press conferences, investigations, accusations, and counter-narratives that followed—has pulled the national conversation away from the issues that directly affect the lives of millions of Filipinos every day.
“Ang nawawala sa focus natin ay napakahalagang panahon para asikasuhin ‘yung tunay na problema. Idinagdag ko lang, i-aangkas mo na naman tayo doon sa Senate reorganization,” he said, noting that the Senate leadership change and the shooting have consumed the national consciousness at the expense of more substantive concerns.
The former senator pointed to the yellow and red alerts that hit Luzon in the middle of the week—affecting two million Meralco consumers—as an example of a real and urgent problem that was drowned out by the noise of the Senate standoff.
He noted that as former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, he had long warned that energy security requires steady supply and reasonable prices for ordinary Filipinos—two benchmarks that the country has repeatedly struggled to meet amid recurring political crises.
Honasan also raised the pattern of institutional distraction, saying the Philippines has a recurring tendency to allow political drama to consume the national agenda at the expense of governance.
“Paulit-ulit na nangyayari ito,” he said, invoking the oft-cited observation that those who fail to learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat them—a pattern he said has defined Philippine political life for decades.
The former senator said data and information have become the new gold and the new oil in the modern world, adding to the traditional concerns of food, clothing, shelter, education, and health as the fundamental challenges that government must address.
He warned that every hour spent on political firefighting is an hour not spent preparing the country for the disruptions of artificial intelligence, climate change, and global economic shifts that are already reshaping the world.
Honasan said the impeachment process—which is set to begin in the Senate on Monday—is itself at risk of becoming another vehicle for political distraction rather than a genuine accountability mechanism.
“‘Wag mong i-weaponize for partisan political purposes ‘yung impeachment. Hayaan mo ‘yung proseso, ‘wag mong pakialaman, ‘wag mong impluwensyahan. ‘Wag mong sulsulan ‘yung mga senator-judges,” he said, urging all sides to allow the constitutional process to proceed on its own merits.
The former senator said the country’s political leaders—at every level—bear a direct responsibility to redirect the national conversation back to what matters.
“Trabaho nilang mag-usap-usap. Ang trabaho nila is gumawa ng batas,” Honasan said, adding that the burden of leadership falls on those at the top to initiate dialogue, set the tone, and model the kind of governance that puts the welfare of ordinary Filipinos above partisan interests.
Honasan also refused to give in to despair, insisting that the country’s problems—as serious and as recurring as they are—remain solvable if leaders and citizens alike refuse to be distracted by the noise. “Hindi tayo authorized na mawalan ng pag-asa. We cannot lose this country by default. Too much is at stake,” he said.
