Maceda laments entry of `low caliber’ senators

MANILA, Philippines – Former Senator Ernesto Maceda Jr. on Monday lamented the entry of what he described as “low caliber” senators in the present chamber.

Maceda said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM that senators back in 1971 such as Arturo Tolentino, Gil Puyat, Jose Diokno, Ambrosio Padilla, Jose Roy, Lorenzo Sumulong, “were really of a higher caliber.”

“Lately, after the entry of celebrities in the Senate, let’s admit the truth, the caliber of senators has gotten lower,” Maceda said.

“With the 23 senators right now, if you watch their debates, only five or six are really performing as legislators,” he said.

Maceda first served as a senator in 1971 but later went into exile in the United States after Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law. He won a Senate seat again in 1987 and served until 1998.

Maceda, 77, is running for a senatorial seat in the 2013 midterm elections under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). He believes that he can use his years of experience in the legislature, as well as in the executive where he has held five cabinet positions, to solve the country’s persistent problems such as unemployment.

“The truth is, in a single session of the Senate, some 3,000 proposed bills are filed in the Senate,” Maceda said. “If a senator does not have much experience, there are many bills there that they will need to study first before they can understand its effects and repercussions.”

“But for those who have much experience … any bill that is presented, more or less we already know how to deal with it, how to approve, amend, change, or improve it,” Maceda said.

He cited his experience as the reason why he decided to run again in next year’s mid-term elections.

He also lamented the way the Reproductive Health Bill was moving slowly in both houses of Congress. “I might be able to catch up with it in the Senate if I win next year,” Maceda said.

Stem cell rejuvenation

Maceda also revealed during the interview that he has been “rejuvenated” with the help of stem cell therapy he underwent in Germany this year.

“So far, so good. I admit I underwent stem cell therapy, it helped me get my strength [back],” Maceda said.

“I have been going around [the country] for more than six months already and I have not felt any illness,” Maceda said.

Ousted President Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, two of the so-called “3-Kings” of UNA, have also undergone stem cell therapy.

Maceda, in a separate interview with INQUIRER.net, said that he received 16 injections, one for every organ, when he undertook the therapy in Germany March of this year.

“It did not take more than 20 minutes,” Maceda said. ‘‘There have not been any negative side-effects from the therapy,’’ he added.

“As you grow older, your cells also grow older,” Maceda explained. “With stem cells, the cells in your body will be renewed …  you will be rejuvenated.”

The therapy cost him around P800,000 in Germany, he said. It costs more than P2 million if done here in the country, he added.

Listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM for the full interview.