Institutions that were designed to ensure the accountability of public officials such as the Ombudsman have failed to accomplish their mandate. Under these circumstances, “second-best institutions” are the ones that seem to work. Laudable, thus, are the efforts of institutions such as the Senate in taking on the investigative tasks of these failed institutions and the courts for reining abuses of power. People power should be seen in the same light. It is a second-best but most effective and most appropriate institution to resolve the present political crisis. It sends a powerful signal not only to the politicians but to the whole society that the abuse of our fundamental laws will be severely punished.
