In the buoyant and energetic halls of the Philippine Congress, the air is thick with words you might mistake for code. In this Congress hearings, someone roars and yells “Point of order!,” while another mutters “I invoke my right, your honor!” – before they’ve even gotten to the budget or tackled major issues. It’s where lawmakers get excited or feel bangag (exhausted), probably running on too much coffee to try to make sense of the debates that feel like a mix of legal drama and a fiesta after-party. And yet, the term bangag means another level of thing – addiction, a meaning without valid justification. Anyway, that’s what humor does – unverified connotation.
And then there’s the “polvoron politics.” And nobody knows this. Well, it is a sweet, crumbly delicacy that could easily describe budget discussions—promises that look whole but crumble with one bite. But in the Senate, where jargon turns into something close to shomenghot (that’s hot noodles in Senate-speak) or something else. This jargon can be a pun to mean “vacuuming the dust through the nose,” even the simplest topic can sound like a recipe gone wrong. “Shimenet,” someone cries—a cryptic term that could mean anything from “budget approved” to “we’re doomed” due to a way of answering in circles. Whatever that is, I don’t know.
Additionally, the budget hearings feel more like teleserye than fiscal planning. You can observe them in plain view with more shenanigans, with one resource speaker “invoking” rights left and right, while others roll their eyes, possibly dreaming of pancit canton and a solid nap. Vice President Duterte throws everyone for a loop by giving up her confidential funds—leaving a few to feel more bangag and wishing they’d invoked their right to a lunch break.
In the end, nothing is ever truly settled—except maybe the cafeteria tab—but Congress continues, fueled by comicality, caffeine, and the occasional “point of order!”
