AFTER SEN. Robin Padilla drew flak for combing his mustache in the middle of Senate hearings in June 2023, his wife, actress-host Mariel Rodriguez made the headlines over a social media post that showed her undergoing an intravenous therapy (IV) glutathione drip session inside her husband’s office on Feb. 19, 2024.
Filipinos were quick to slam Rodriguez for the now-deleted post, calling it “disrespectful,” “unethical,” and a “mockery” of the Senate.
Initially, Sen. Padilla downplayed the criticisms and even found the political issue funny; then offered a half-baked apology to anyone who was offended by his wife’s social media post.
Facing a flurry of social media backlash, Rodriguez eventually deleted her post, apologized to the public on February 25 and explained that she received a Vitamin C drip and not a glutathione drip, contrary to earlier reports. She went further to justify her action, saying her sole intention was to inspire others, especially the women to always find time to take care of themselves and their health no matter how busy they may be.
Granted that it was a Vitamin C and not a glutathione drip, and assuming that the noble intention was to inspire others, haven’t this couple considered even for just a second, the appropriateness, propriety and decency of the act? Has delicadeza flown totally out of the Padilla household already?
Delicadeza is a value deeply rooted in the Filipino culture and “refers to a sense of appropriateness, decency and discretion in one’s actions and decisions.” It involves “maintaining a sense of honor and integrity” in all our actions and decisions.
But looking at some of the honorable men and women who now walk the august halls of the Senate, or at some of the public officials who have been sworn into office, delicadeza like honesty has become “such a lonely word.”
When a senator’s wife resorts to an ostentatious display of wealth amidst the pandemic, it is not a question if she bought the Hermes and Louis Vuitton bikes she posted on her social media account with hard-earned money, the issue is about delicadeza.
When an elected government official’s family-owned construction firm corners all contracts for various infrastructure projects funded by the official’s own Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the issue is no longer whether that official is part of the family corporation’s board of trustees or not, or whether the corporation is a legal business entity or not. The issue is simply delicadeza.
When an elected senator heads the Committee on Agriculture and Food, while the family-owned business conglomerate is in the field of converting agricultural lands into subdivisions and malls and while the non-engineer son concurrently heads the Department of Public Works and Highways, the issue is crystal clear – delicadeza.
When a sitting president rallies big corporations, the business groups and every Filipino to pay their taxes correctly and promptly to help the government generate the much-needed revenues, while his family’s real estate taxes remain unpaid for so long, again the issue is delicadeza.
I think one important takeaway on the Marial Padilla’s IV glutha brouhaha is this – Filipinos are now becoming more critical of their public officials, including their families. They have continued to amplify their voices on various platforms. They do not mince words and never sugarcoat their comments on erring public officials. If Filipino voters can sustain this new-found drive to call out people in government, the day might come when Philippine Congress would once again be filled with men and women of integrity and delicadeza, the kind of lawmakers that the Filipinos truly deserve.
But as long as we continue to choose has-been actors, apologists, historical revisionists, ill-prepared and unqualified wannabe senators who remain beholden puppets to their masters, and then disregard and even smart-shame human rights advocates, educators, pro-environment and highly qualified officials with proven track record of good governance and integrity, let us not complain if we continue to have clowns running the vaudeville act in a circus now called the Philippine Senate.
