There is a Senate coup afoot against Johnny Ponce Enrile. All it will take is a nod from the Palace to happen. There was no reason for Alan Cayetano to quarrel with his father's best friend. Nor was it wise for JPE to give tit for tat to a young man's tirade. Never give the small guy the chance to be a David.

The issue is not equity of senatorial allowances either way, nor why they have huge allowances in the first place or if the head of the Senate like the head of the House may give it as, when, and how he pleases. They all happily accepted it before. And it has been that way since Edsa one restored Congress. The issue is why it is an issue at this time.

And the answer is, it is time for Johnny to go. His enormous prestige was enlisted in the unconstitutional, baseless, not to mention impeachable actions of the executive officials who put the Congress up to the impeachment of the Chief Justice. Without JPE's brilliant handling of what started out as a kangaroo court, indeed without his vote of conviction, conviction would have shamed the Senate.

Indeed, even if the CJ was convicted by a vote of 22 to 1, JPE's single vote of acquittal would have discredited the impeachment, because no one else had the moral stature to even accuse the CJ.

But Corona threw in the towel with the folly of taking up his own defense, thereby acquiring a fool for a client that made it easy for to Johnny convict him, give respectability to the outcome. At that point, Johnny lost his usefulness and worse, posed a threat to the administration by aligning himself with the so-called alternative to the administration's senatorial slate, though it is impossible to tell one from the other outside the singular consideration that 2013 will decide the outcome of 2016.

What is clear is what everyone should know by now. The old way of doing politics with a measure of honor even among thieves and a quantum of gratitude for past favors is gone for good, now anything goes, tolerance is intolerable and all trace of civility is gone from those who relish accusations of infidelity made by the most libidinous men and women in the country. But who sets the tone of a country's politics and manners? King Henry told Kate, kings are the makers of manners or the unmaking of manners.

Good night and good luck.