IF YOU watched Superman (1978), then you encountered the scene where Jonathan Kent talked to Clark. The young Clark Kent did not belong to the football jocks-cheerleaders crowd. So he tried to show off, wanting to put everyone in their place, and his father saw it all. The old man, hugging the boy, said, “There’s one thing I know, son, and that is, you are here for a reason. Whatever the reason is … It’s not to score touchdowns.”
There was also a scene with Martha Kent. When it was time for Clark to leave his childhood home and seek his destiny, Martha, showing a mother’s love and fear, asked, “Do you know where you’re headed?”
The show came to mind because of Congressman Bong Suntay. He uses the superhero nickname, even borrowing the movie theme for his 2025 congressional campaign. It’s fair to assume anyone calling himself Superman understands what it takes to be the figure with the moral compass. It comes with burden and privilege.
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Recently, impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte were the subject of deliberations by the House Committee on Justice. The last hour of the hearing focused on the sixth ground of the third impeachment complaint. This ground alleged that the Vice President committed betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution. The job of the Committee was to determine sufficiency (of the complaint) in substance.
The congressmen and congresswomen present watched videos of events that would supposedly show the acts of the Vice President aimed at destabilizing the government and inciting sedition and insurrection. Among other things, public statements were allegedly made “designating herself as the designated survivor for the President’s upcoming State of the Nation Address” and “expressing a desire to ‘decapitate’ the President.”
During the last minutes of the hearing, Congressman Rufus Rodriguez explained that the Vice President voiced out a mere desire, an imagination—therefore her acts were not impeachable. Congressman Suntay, representing the Fourth District of Quezon City, agreed. Also, he said:
“Yung statement as being the designated survivor, it’s not illegal, it’s not criminal … Sinabi lang niya yun. Siguro nagpapatawa lang siya. And lastly. Alam mo minsan, nasa Shangrila ako. Nakita ko si [names a popular actress]. Ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko. Nag-init talaga. At na-imagine ko na lang kung anong pwedeng mangyari. Pero siyempre hanggang imagination na lang ‘yun. Pero hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung ano na-imagine ko.”
Laughter erupted in the room.
Apparently, things haven’t changed. Government officials still say words that defy common sense. They still degrade the person and human identity. And the audience — that crowd of females and old and young males alike — still relishes the sensational personality, a character releasing sound bite after sound bite, controversy and entertainment rolled into one.
Come to think of it, we encounter similar behavior within our own bubbles. Over dinners and gatherings, we are confronted with, Tumaba ka. Wala kang anak. Bakit kayo naghiwalay? You’re strange. Ang igsi ng suot mo. Seemingly ordinary, innocent declarations made in familiar surroundings. We are supposed to hear the words without getting upset; otherwise, we’re taking ourselves too seriously. (The irony that I am making a comparison to prove a point like how Congressman Suntay was making a comparison to prove his point doesn’t escape me.)
“Why do I want to say such a thing?” is a fair question that someone wishing to utter unsettling statements should ask. “Why can’t I say it?” is not — at least not if it’s raised with self-importance instead of self-reflection. Motivation matters.
If the Rotary four-way test is too corny for our taste — Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? — perhaps a more relatable, intimate guide might help. How would my mother feel if I say this to/about another person? My father, my partner, my mentor, someone whom I value deeply?
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Somehow some sense entered the room as the Committee on Justice was nearing the end of its deliberations last March 3. Upon motion made and seconded, over the objections of Congressman Suntay and Congressman Rodriguez, Suntay’s statements were stricken from the record.
Does this set a dangerous precedent? Congressman Suntay said, “Now we are censuring manifestations which are neither illegal nor immoral. Imagine, we’re conducting a hearing. But now statements which are neither illegal nor immoral can be stricken out of the record.” Call the statements a breach of professional decorum. Call the act a brief lapse of personal judgment. Congress, as the representative of the people, must be credible and fair, and while this duty extends even to its own members it must be exercised for the public good. Those imagined thoughts, those articulated words, did not deserve space at the impeachment proceedings.
“Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.” That’s what a true superman/woman stands for. Within or outside the halls of Congress, it is never too late to take on that sacred cape and personify those basic ideals./PN
