[Rappler’s Best] Between the Senate crazies and your electric bill

It’s practically a draw at the Senate as of Monday morning, May 25, with neither of the two factions having the majority following the escape of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, accused of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was the clinch vote — 13th — in the coup that installed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President on May 11.

Without Dela Rosa, that’s a 12-11 balance of power in the 24-person Senate — a precarious situation that has Cayetano praying his favorite Bible verses every night and the putschists thinking of earthly ways to unseat him. Whether the counter-coup happens this week hinges on the negotiations related to the ongoing flood control scandal probe into his allies and the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, their patron.

This was what Senator Francis Escudero reportedly offered the other weekend to the bloc of ousted Senate President Tito Sotto: He can bring in five votes to them (himself as well as senators Camille Villar, Mark Villar, Joel Villanueva, and Jinggoy Estrada — all linked to scandals) on condition he is made Senate president, according to a source privy to the negotiations. 

As mentioned in last week’s Rappler’s Best, Escudero was outrightly deemed an unpalatable choice, thus the emergence of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as a compromise bet. Escudero supposedly raised a term-sharing agreement with Gatchalian, but he wanted to come first — meaning as presiding justice in the trial of Duterte. 

That Cayetano made it through the past week — surviving the ignominy, as James Patrick Cruz wrote in this piece, of being the shortest-serving Senate president in Philippine history — meant that the workaround to the Escudero deal continued to evade the plotters, allowing Cayetano and his gang to make hay.

• Along with Senator Imee Marcos, he pushed for a pathetic narrative: that the plot to oust him is based on a grand design for charter change. This defies logic, writes Dwight de Leon in this story. 
• Add to that Senator Pia Cayetano’s theatrics and Senator Robin Padilla taking us for a ride, and the Senate has indeed become a “political wasteland,” Val Villanueva points out in his Vantage Point piece. 
• The online rage over the Cayetanos found its way into music and satire composed quickly by Filipino artists. Jairo Bolledo features them here. 

How about us mortals? I got my electric bill recently and, as expected, saw it double. Things won’t return to normal anytime soon due to US President Donald Trump’s incoherent, on-again, off-again plans to end the war in Iran.

• In this explainer, Shay Du shows us why our electric bills have skyrocketed, and it’s not just because you used your air conditioner more this time. 
• Malign actors online peddle the lie that it’s the government’s electric subsidy for the poor that’s to blame for the rise in our electric bills. This Decoded piece shows how disinformation and hate dominated posts about the subsidy that has a minuscule impact on consumers. 
• Power generation and distribution being a lucrative business, the big guns are battling for control of this industry in some provinces. Val Villanueva scrutinizes the competing bids of Meralco and tycoon Ricky Razon’s power firm for the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative. 
• Rotating brownouts occurred in the past two weeks, and while the alerts have been lifted in the Luzon and Visayas grids, power outages are still  expected.

Where to find hope? The Palarong Pambansa 2026 opened on Sunday, May 24, at the Datu Lipus Makapandong Governor Democrito O. Plaza Sports Complex in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. More than 13,000 delegates from 18 regions, the National Academy of Sports, and Philippine Schools Overseas are taking part. We bring you live updates here. 

Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss: 

Pauline Macaraeg unmasks the murky business model of influencer and social media operator Franco Mabanta, and why it should matter to you. 

Jairo Bolledo raises some unanswered questions in the government’s announced intent to finally arrest Senator Dela Rosa. Bea Cupin, who covered Dela Rosa when he was chief of the Philippine National Police, tells us more about him — “loud, unapologetic, irreverent,” and audacious.

Gelo Gonzales gives us the lowdown on all pending legislation that seeks to regulate social media — and what each bill intends to do.

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Rodrigo Duterte to remain detained at The Hague for another year

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