Whenever I’d complain aloud to Pablo about the financial challenges of being a freelance writer, he would quiet me down by saying, in his serious baritone voice, “It’s the only good thing we know how to do.”

The public is getting swamped with false, misleading, or completely fabricated information that creates confusion, anxiety, fear and distrust, aggravating the anger and stress over the rising cost of living and our daily struggles with congested traffic and inefficient government services.

Social media is vibrant with people voicing their outrage. (Although, malevolent forces are actively at work sowing confusion.) The public demands accountability. That’s democracy functioning! The Trillion Peso protest rallies last Sept. 21, and another one being organized on Nov. 30, are vivid demonstrations of people participating in governance.It is lamentable that the senators are taking it negatively.