What we needed to learn from past presidents

Filipinos should study their history well. Past presidents are great sources of wisdom. From Emilio Aguinaldo, the youngest, to Rodrigo Duterte, the oldest, we should be able to learn vital lessons that could help us achieve quantum leaps in political growth and maturity, wisdom and astuteness. From Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who stayed too long to Joseph Estrada, who left too early, we should have been by now, more discerning, ingenious, cunning, if you will, or at least, sagacious, and street smart.

The first president should have been Andres Bonifacio and not Emilio Aguinaldo. But the Tondo plebeian from the urban working class was outsmarted by the more sophisticated gobernadorcillo and landowning ilustrado from suburban Cavite. The Tondo-based Magdiwang loyalists including Gat Andres, the Katipunan founder, was outwitted by the Magdalos, who made a mockery of the 1897 Tejeros Convention. The results were worse than the Hello Garci scandal. Bonifacio ended up like Manny Pacquiao and Koko Pimentel, who were the origs of PDP Laban. They were ousted by the newbies, led by Cusi. Lesson number one: Watch your front, your enemies may attack. But watch your back more vigilantly, your allies may stage a treacherous coup.

The elections of Manuel L. Quezon in 1935 and 1941 left us lesson number two: Choose your number two very wisely. If you are strong-willed, authoritarian and uncompromising, choose a vice president like Sergio Osmeña Sr., who was unassuming, patient, low-key, and even subservient. The 1943 election of Jose P. Laurel left us a lesson number three: Compromising with the enemy in matters of style is not treason when the objective was to protect the people as a matter of principle. Laurel also left us lesson number 4: In order to protect your people, you may momentarily agree to a modus vivendi with your foes, one step backward, two steps forward. The 1946 election of Manuel Roxas defeating his friend Sergio Osmeña Sr., should give us lesson number five: Your closest ally's stiletto is more deadly than your enemies' missiles.

Lesson number six is: Death is less threatening if your next-in-command is your bosom buddy. This was the lesson from Quezon relative to Vice President Osmeña in 1944, also from Roxas in 1949, in relation to VP Quirino, and from Magsaysay in relation to VP Garcia in 1953. Lesson number seven is from Quirino who lost to his own appointee, Ramon Magsaysay in 1953: When you nurture an ox, be sure, it will not attack you on the day of reckoning. From Magsaysay in relation to VP Garcia in 1957, lesson number eight: You can die peacefully if your trustee will honor your memory. And lesson number nine from Garcia of NP, in relation to VP Macapagal in 1961: When the rooster lives with a snake inside the same cage, sooner than later, one will be swallowed by the other.

In 1965, Marcos won over Macapagal and from Marcos we should get lesson number 10: If you use the law to stay too long, the people will oust you from your throne, using powers outside the realm of the law. How did Marcos in 1969 defeat Serging Osmeña in Cebu? Lesson number 11: The enemies of your enemy are your allies. Form an alliance among them against your mortal rival. Then eliminate your rival without blood on your hands. Marcos used Durano and the latter's allies to defeat Cebu's niño bonito. Lesson number 12 is from President Cory in 1986: Your closest ally can become your worst critic, but he is not your enemy. For lack of space, we shall have a sequel in future columns. We should learn lessons from Cory's unkindness to Doy Laurel, and how FVR grabbed Cory's endorsement from Ramon Mitra.

There are many more nuggets of lessons to learn from FVR to Produ or President Rody Duterte. We need to study and learn from them. Most of our mistakes today are caused by refusal to learn from the many lessons yesterday. We should be smarter by now. Remember George Santayana's famous nugget of wisdom: Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.