Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano turned to his geeky side on Saturday, May 23, when he used Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) expansion pack titles to explain the ongoing controversies in the Senate to younger audiences.
In a Facebook livestream, Cayetano recounted how one of his nephews asked him late at night, “What’s happening sa Senate?”
He admitted struggling to explain complex issues such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), protective custody, and internal disputes in a way a child could understand.
To simplify matters, Cayetano drew inspiration from recent Pokémon TCG releases—“Mega Dream,” “Perfect Order,” “Ascended Heroes,” and “Chaos Rising.”
Mega Dream: He said this represents the aspiration to “think big” and pursue goals rooted in God’s purpose.
Perfect Order: Cayetano explained that society longs for harmony but continues to struggle with corruption, greed, and violence.
Ascended Heroes: He linked this to people striving to do good, while warning against reducing politics to a simplistic “heroes versus villains” narrative.
Chaos Rising: He described this as the best reflection of the current political climate, where disorder comes not only from those who want to destroy institutions but also from those resisting reforms.
“The problem with our political mindset is that it has become like a fraternity brawl. Once the fighting starts, people no longer care who is right or wrong—they just stand by their side,” Cayetano said.
He stressed that beyond Senate disputes, the country faces pressing challenges such as inflation, rising fuel prices, food insecurity, fertilizer shortages, and the effects of El Niño.
“So from our mega dream to the perfect order, to the ascended heroes, to the chaos rising, life is like that,” he added.
But Cayetano reminded viewers that unlike Pokémon, politics is not a game.
“Unlike Pokémon, which is for collectors, here you’re dealing with real lives and not imagination,” he said.
Pokémon card collecting remains popular worldwide, including in the Philippines, where enthusiasts enjoy pulling rare cards from expansion packs and trading them for more valuable ones. (Dhel Nazario)
