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Posted by Sheila Coronel
PCIJ
MR. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege, invoking my right to speak after 23 hours of listening to the members of this Honorable Chamber. Mr. Speaker, today there is blood on the floor of the House. For today, we have witnessed not just the execution of the impeachment complaint but also the massacre of the English tongue.
Mr. Speaker, not since the great Julius Caesar led his army out of Italy in 49 B.C. has the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" been used so often in so short a span of time. We have set a record, Mr. Speaker, not just for having the longest known single congressional session in the history of our beloved land, we have also set the record for the most frequent repetitions of "Dura lex, sed lex" in 24 hours.
It is perhaps for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that the Honorable Gentleman from Bacolod City was inspired to improvise on that great Latin maxim. Mr. Speaker, after undergoing deep reflection and contemplation, I believe that the Good Representative Monico Puentevella has uttered a phrase that will forever be imprinted in the hearts and minds of Filipinos: Dura lex, Pyrex.
I am proud to say, Mr. Speaker, that only Filipinos can appreciate the full significance and import, the sense and sensibility, or as the Honorable Gentlewoman from Masbate has so alliteratively put it, the "conspiracy and conundrum" of this profound phrase. I salute the Honorable Gentleman from Bacolod City for the honor he has bestowed on an ancient and hallowed tongue.
Be that as it may, Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that Latin is not an official language of this August Chamber. And yet, Mr. Speaker, how often have the distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of this Honorable House asked the question, "Quo vadis?" I will risk my honor, Mr. Speaker, and also the honor and riches of my children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren, by speaking the unspeakable, by uttering the unutterable truth.
Let us admit it, Mr. Speaker: despite the frequency with which "Quo vadis?" has been asked in this Chamber, no one has answered that question, either in Latin or in any other language known to the honorable men and women of this Hallowed House. It is for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that I posit, I aver, I assert, that after crossing the Rubicon, we are about to plunge into the abyss of uncertainty.
Honorable Speaker, I put the burden of the blame squarely on the shoulders of generations of English teachers and law professors. They have imprisoned us in the words of wise but dead men and women. They have kept us mired in archaic phrases. They have shackled our tongues and entombed our minds. I also blame Hollywood, Mr. Speaker, especially generations of gladiator movies that, no matter their age, the Gentlemen and Gentlewomen of this House have grown up with.
Despite this, Mr. Speaker, I am overjoyed by overwhelming evidence that the members of this August Body read books. Mr. Speaker, I should ask that the proper citations be made to the references in this Honorable Chamber to Humpty Dumpty and the Empress' New Clothes. Otherwise, Mr. Speaker, we will only Dinkyfy and Gloriafy the grand rhetorical tradition of the August House.
I will end, Mr. Speaker, by clarifying that this humble representation is aware that what she has said is merely suppletory to all the grand words that have been spoken in this House today.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me say that the greatest and sweetest words I have heard in this Chamber, are those that you yourself have spoken so frequently and with such eloquence since early this morning. Those memorable words are: "Let me remind the Honorable Gentleman that his three minutes is up."
You have shown us the power of words, Mr. Speaker. Vamos, vamos, vamos.
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