It began with a Commission on Audit report.

The senators unearthed a whopping 8.7-billion-peso supply contract bagged by a company with no track record but with links to some close to President Duterte.

In response, the president attacked the Blue Ribbon Committee investigation insulted senators and more recently made it clear — no cabinet official may appear in the hearings without his permission.

So the question is — Does the president have a point or is he simply afraid of what the Senate which he once so firmly controlled has discovered and might discover even more?