When crunch time came, the senators of the land chose a leader recognized for his independence, hard work and sharp mind.
Last Monday, the senators overwhelmingly elected Juan Ponce Enrile to the Senate presidency. Some people, it is said, have destiny thrust onto their laps. Enrile did not seek the post. He did not seek the post in his previous term as the third highest official of the land. But only he had the confidence of his colleagues to muster the numbers.
In a token gesture to at least produce a minority, Joker Arroyo nominated Alan Peter Cayetano to be Senate president. Alan garnered the votes of Arroyo, Enrile and his sister, Pia.
Both Manuel Villar and Francis Pangilinan withdrew their respective bids shortly before the vote. Neither could muster, hard as they tried, enough votes to gain a majority.
Villar had the largest stock of support to begin with, counting at least six solid supporters in his bid for the Senate presidency. But he could not add much more to that count. Not many of his colleagues wanted a return to the status quo ante and the controversies associated with his tenure as Senate President.
Pangilinan, for his part, was the candidate of the Liberal Party. He was chosen over the much senior Franklin Drilon because it was thought there might be less resistance to the young senator’s candidacy.
When his bid was at its most viable point, it was estimated Pangilinan had 12 votes in the bag, one short of clinching the leadership of the chamber. There was (really questionable) effort to get detained Antonio Trillianes out of jail to cast a vote at the Senate’s opening session. When that did not work out, Pangilinan’s bid was doomed.
Unfortunately for Kiko, he was deemed too close to President Noynoy Aquino. Some senators feared this could compromise the independence for which the Philippine Senate was valued. None of wife Sharon’s public weeping could cure that perception.
At the House of Representatives, it was much easier for congressmen to cross party boundaries and support the candidate for Speaker endorsed by the President. That is, in fact, an honored tradition in that chamber. It was no surprise that Rep. Sonny Belmonte garnered the majority he did last Monday.
The historical institutional check for the propensity of the House to be pro-administration is a fiercely independent Senate. The leadership of the Senate needs to reflect that role.
In the end, there was no one else to turn to but Enrile — reluctant as the man might be to continue assuming the responsibility of leading this often ungovernable chamber.
In the previous Congress, Enrile served as Senate President to the satisfaction of most senators. He has been perceived fair even as he took strong positions on a number of issues. He has been appreciated for the hard work he put in, coming to work very early in the morning and toiling until very late in the day.
Enrile might have been accused of many things. But no one dare say he is incompetent or indolent. Despite his age, the man maintains a work schedule that is the envy of much younger men. His mind is as sharp as ever, enabling him to keep tabs on many issues at the same time and stay abreast with the latest development.
For instance, Enrile has kept himself well informed about international efforts to deal with climate change. Today, he is working hard for vital amendments to the Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729).
The existing climate change law falls below new international standards for dealing with the problem. The Climate Change Commission is basically powerless and has no fund to do its work effectively.
Enrile wants a more empowered Climate Change Commission that will be the clearing house for all policies affecting the environment. The Commission ought to be charged with the national policy and action plan on climate change.
In Enrile’s proposal, a new corruption-proof commission needs to be provided for by law. The UN working group on climate change issues has proposed that each member country should have a national implementing entity to oversee climate-related policies. That entity must be supplied with a National Survival Fund to enable it to do its work.
The proposal has been widely cheered by non-governmental organizations working to protect the environment and reverse climate change. As he urges fundamental rethinking of our climate change strategies, Enrile is quickly emerging as the country’s real “green” legislator.
Few would begrudge the most senior senator pressed into service as the chamber’s leader.
Enrile is a weathered politician and a seasoned policymaker. In his long life, he has served government in many capacities, in both the executive and legislative branches. No one still in the public service has a richer institutional memory than he. Despite his advanced age, he remains alert and has nurtured a mind that can easily capture complex issues and reduce them to the essential points.
Few would begrudge calling Enrile a statesman. He has grown beyond factional loyalties and partisan posturing. Late into his checkered life, he has no other ambition to cloud his judgment.
There could be no better way to compliment a person than to describe him as a “statesman.” In our context, there always seems to be scarcity of statesmanship — which makes Enrile a rare gift. Even as we might have taken adverse positions in the past, I do not hesitate calling him exactly that: a statesman.