In search of the enabling elite

Florencio Abad Representative, Lone District of Batanes

Do you remember the little girl holding the Bible while Chief Justice Hilario Davide swore in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as President? That was Cecilia Paz or Patsy, the 11-year-old daughter of Florencio Abad who was then at the other side of town, outside the gates of the Palace where deposed President Estrada was holed up.

The Abad family has a strong sense of history. The older Abad, the lone congressman from Batanes, is currently a candidate for House Speaker.

Abad dreams of a good life for every Filipino – rich and poor living in peaceful co-existence, knowing that one needs the other. It is a dream that can come true, Abad insists, drawing on his home province for inspiration.

Provincial inspiration

Batanes has a population of 18,000, most of whom are Ivatans. "There are no poor people in Batanes. You have to be really lazy to be poor. People are genuinely concerned about the environment," he said.

Because education is a priority for the Ivatans, more school buildings are added each year to meet the growing number of school-aged students. Anyone who wants to study, even up to getting a doctorate degree, can do so with the help of the closely-knit community. "It’s hard to buy votes here. The people know the value of their vote," he said.

Within the tourism industry, Batanes is known for its no-crime rate. There are no locks in homes. And there are no robberies. A tourist who forgot his rubber shoes in the province received a package weeks later containing his rubber shoes, mud and all.

The social and cultural make-up that makes Batanes what it is has been acknowledged by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which included the province in its World Heritage list. Usually, the World Heritage list includes only a certain place to preserve such as the Batad rice

In search terraces in Ifugao and Vigan.

Abad believes the difference between Batanes and other parts of the country is the equity the Ivatans have taken in their province. "If people do not have a stake in their future, they will not care about the environment or about their country. Their concern will only be to meet their daily needs. Unfortunately, this is where the danger lies as they can easily be exploited by people who care only about their own interests," he said.

Healing period

Abad has only three more years to serve in the Lower House. "When it was necessary to show love for country, we were able to do that. In the 12th Congress, we need a leadership that is acceptable, credible, committed to reforms to carry what we had achieved in EDSA 2," he said.

Abad feels the time is ripe for a new kind of leadership in the Lower House – one who can help business get the economy back on track while uplifting the lives of the poor.

One decisive factor which may usher in this new kind of leadership is the large number of young and new congressmen who will make up close to half of the incoming Lower House.

Aside from the process of healing, Abad is batting for institution building to ensure that reforms will continue. One specific goal is to computerize the Commission on Elections to reduce the possibility of cheating. "A country with fragile institutions is perceived as an unstable country," he said.

For the economy to move, Abad believes the agricultural sector must be modernized. "I am a believer that the development of a country must be integral. In the experiences of Asian tiger economies, they developed their rural areas first, which served later as a strong base for their industrialization and manufacturing sectors," he said.

Part of his plan is to come up with showcases, such as a food basket showcase that will be based in Mindanao.

Volunteer work

One of Abad’s life-changing experiences was working with Sr. Milagros during his college years. With the nun as his mentor, Abad learned about the hardships in the rural areas and his responsibility to give a part of himself to those who have less in life.

This desire to improve the countryside continued when he served the Aquino government as Agrarian Reform Secretary.

That Abad wants to better the lives of the poor does not mean he is anti-rich.

"I believe in the elite. There will always be a small group of people who will take the lead but it has to be an enabling elite. You have to have vision. They have to be willing to sacrifice now so that, in the long-term, everybody will benefit. If there is strong, domestic economy, then everybody benefits."

Consistent with his belief of the greater good, Abad supported the passage of the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act. "That was a hard decision to make because my non-government organization friends took the other stance," he said.

"I told NGOs such as Etta Rosales’ group that the ends we seek here are the same even if we differ on how to get there. The problem is they want the State to do it and we have seen that the State, with its bureaucracy and corruption, simply cannot do it," he added.

"In the long run, I think restructuring the power industry is going to create an economic environment that will foster growth. If we cannot change the division of the pie, then maybe we can rapidly increase the size of the pie. If the status quo remains, then there’s no way you can survive a borderless economy." he said.

Abad’s vision is shared by wife, Dina, the dean of the Ateneo School of Government. It is a vision he hopes his fellow congressmen will share with him.