The best and brightest

Reading the tributes paid to the late senator Vicente Paterno, I wonder if such praise will ever be heaped on any of our current crop of lawmakers.

Paterno was also a former public works minister, chairman of the Board of Investments and deputy executive secretary for energy. He obtained a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of the Philippines and an MBA from Harvard.

Since the first Philippine Congress was convened on Sept. 15, 1898 at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, the Philippine legislature has had its share of controversies. But for the most part, lawmakers were looked upon with respect, deserving of the salaries and perks provided by taxpayers.

Possibly because the early national assemblies were convened under colonial rule, a lawmaker’s patriotism used to be considered an important issue. And while many revolutionary leaders lacked formal education, members of the legislature were college graduates, many of them from the legal profession. Among these capable individuals, the cream tended to rise to the top.

The tradition of competence was not broken even by martial law. Ferdinand Marcos, who himself rose on his own merit from the ranks of Congress, was an astute headhunter. Among his recruits was Paterno, who also served for a year under Corazon Aquino before running for the Senate. Marcos’ eye for talent is evident in the staying power of several of his trusted lieutenants and business cronies. One of his favorite lawyers continues to wield considerable influence over the judiciary.

During Marcos’ long reign, unfortunately, the misuse of competence for enormous personal gain and systematic human rights violations soured many Filipinos to the nation’s best and brightest.

Corazon Aquino, in the 1986 snap election, tapped that public disenchantment, using Marcos’ denigration of her capabilities against him. Yes, she was just a housewife, she memorably said, but she was sincere and honest, and she lacked the competence to steal.

It can be argued that the housewife, who in fact was a grade school valedictorian and had a degree in Mathematics (with French as a minor subject), was not beyond being a calculating politician. Her campaign spiel about the plain housewife versus brilliant lawyer, the Philippines’ David versus Goliath, was highly effective.

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The Senate after EDSA was still packed with individuals known for their competence, or at least for their courage in fighting the Marcos dictatorship. Jovito Salonga led the chamber. His type is the one that is now sorely missed in the chamber.

A notable addition to the stable of lawmakers in 1987 was college dropout and retired actor Joseph Estrada. Erap likes to thank Cory Aquino for catapulting him from small town mayor to president. A Marcos loyalist, Erap was among the local executives replaced with officers-in-charge during the post-EDSA revolutionary government. (In Makati, President Cory picked anti-Marcos lawyer Jejomar Binay to be OIC.)

Erap inspired a host of aging entertainers to make a career shift to politics. The rest (to the dismay of the thinking snobs), as they say, is history.

From the Senate, Erap’s rise to the presidency was unstoppable. Never mind if critics scoffed that he had dumbed down the Senate – and later dumbed down the presidency. Pinoys were tired of intellectual brilliance.

After the corruption scandals of another academic overachiever, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Pinoy voters seemed to become even more unimpressed by capability. The best and brightest, it seemed, also tended to become the most accomplished crooks.

In a battle reminiscent of the 1986 snap election, Cory Aquino’s only son, who also denigrated his own capabilities, clobbered administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro, who tried to sell “competent leadership” to the electorate.

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Today, lawmaking has become a family business. This sorry period in our history will be remembered for the unabashed greed of families for political power, and all the wealth and perks that it brings.

Families want their members to occupy every elective post in their turf: congressional representative, governor, mayor, councilor, village chief – with at least one member in the Senate. When there aren’t enough posts to accommodate everyone, families resort to gerrymandering and carpetbagging. Spouses, children, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, mistresses and their own relatives – everyone must be accommodated.

At the Senate, they used to at least wait for the retirement of a family member before another takes over. Today, in a chamber with just 24 seats, there are two pairs of siblings serving at the same time. At least voters rejected father-and-son tandems.

Of the 24 senators, 14 are children or relatives of former senators and congressmen, one is a cousin of the president, another is a daughter of the vice president, three have been linked to coup attempts, four are occasional actors or entertainers while one is the daughter of show biz superstars.

Most of the 24 have been implicated in the scandals over the pork barrel and Disbursement Acceleration Program, although the formal indictments have stopped at three opposition senators.

Despite being implicated in these scandals, inquiries into other corruption allegations continue, with “resource persons” bamboozled and insulted when they unsurprisingly refuse to confirm conclusions formed even before the start of the probe by those conducting it.

The search for the truth is compromised by boorish and patently biased conduct, and it is unfortunate that such precedents are being set for future Senate inquiries where impartiality is required.

We don’t know which is worse: the boors, or the non-performing members of the Committee on Silence, who have done so little work people have to check the records to make sure they are still senators.

How people miss the likes of Salonga, Lorenzo Tañada, and yes – even if he served for only one term – Paterno.

But the current Senate is the result of a popular vote, of democracy in action. This Senate is an affirmation that we deserve the government we get.

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CHRISTMAS BAZAAR FOR THE POOR: This Sunday, a Christmas bazaar and festival will be held nationwide, featuring products made by beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program. In Metro Manila, the “Paskuhan Salu-Salo sa Pagbabago” of the Department of Social Welfare and Development will be held at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City. There will be livelihood demonstrations and a Christmas show, with DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman delivering the opening remarks.