EDITORIAL - “The difference is the same”

People are talking, nay speculating, about whether outgoing Talisay City mayor and now incoming city councilor Soc Fernandez has already switched parties -- from Alayon to Liberal -- following his act of taking oath in the company of Liberal Party members.

While there may be much to speculate (there is never any dearth of speculating in the Philippines, especially on political matters) about the Soc oathtaking, it would still amount to an exercise in futility. It doesn't matter anymore whether Soc sticks with Alayon or becomes Liberal.

That is because Soc is already politically passe even before there was any reason to speculate. True, he still won as councilor, but that is what might be described as residual luster. People are not like electric bulbs that can be switched off with one click. In fact, fluorescent lamps retain some glow after switchoff.

Or maybe the sentiments of Talisaynons are like that of the dachshund in the poem, "that while his eyes were filled with sadness, his little tail went wagging on because of previous gladness." Talisay may no longer want Soc as mayor, but it doesn't mean they have written him off altogether.

After all, a man can always serve in many capacities. But as mayor, Soc has shown great difficulty in leading by example, a fatal flaw to most people. His son, by most accounts, had become a menace both to society and to himself, yet Soc refused to settle the score in favor of public interest, preferring the personal.

Long before he became mayor, Soc made a name for himself as one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic faith. How sad that, when it came to his own son, he seems to have completely forgotten the most famous Bible verse of all -- John 3:16.

As a person, Soc cannot be faulted for loving his son to a fault. But he is not just an average man. Soc wears two hats. His other hat is that of being a father to an entire city. As a father to a son, Soc had no choice but to love the son. But being a father to a city is a matter of choice.

And long before he could serve out his last term as mayor, Soc already made a choice, his son over that of the city. That is the position he has taken. That is a position that makes anyone unfit to lead a city. As councilor, he can sit around and ponder on his son's future. No big deal. Colleagues can do the real thinking.

So, does it really matter whether Soc remains with Alayon or swing over to the Liberals? Even if people insist on making political distinctions, the final answer would still be the same. Either Soc is an Alayon councilor thinking of his son, or a Liberal councilor doing exactly the same thing.