Political Tidbits : Leadership challenge in the

House
By Belinda Olivares-Cunanan
Inquirer
Posted date: May 29, 2007

The margins separating the last three senatorial candidates in the Magic 12 as well as those in 13th to 16th
place remain so minuscule that its difficult to predict the final outcome of the senatorial race at this point, when
several millions of votes are still to be counted.
The way things are, Genuine Opposition (GO) candidates Antonio Trillanes and Aquilino Pimentel III could be
dislodged by Juan Miguel Zubiri of Team Unity (TU), who has been weaving in and out of No. 12 in the counts
by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel),
and Ralph Recto, once the votes from Maguindanao province are in; or vice versa.
The final tally could settle at a 6-4-2 count in favor of GO, or even tie GO and TU at 5-5 with two independents.
***
What it all shows us is that somethings got to be done with the counting. Recent news reports said the Comelec
was still awaiting votes from Quezon City and Manila, among others, even though these places are just
kilometers away from the tabulation center at the PICC. I spoke with British Ambassador Peter Beckingham at
Speaker Jose de Venecias luncheon for the outgoing Chinese ambassador and queried him whether vote
counting in the United Kingdom was manual or automated. He said it was all done by hand.
As voting in the UK falls on an ordinary working day, polling places remain open until 10 p.m.; counting begins
at midnight and is finished by about 4 a.m. the following day. Of course it helps that Britain is a parliamentary
system -- the ballots involve far fewer names than on our kilometric list.
***
A few days ago news reports quoted the Kampi party chair, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo
Puno, as saying his party would fully support Speaker De Venecia for the Houses top post. That announcement
was greeted in many places with elation, as it would eliminate the disruptive and divisive battles for the
speakership, enabling the House to concentrate on the legislative agenda of the 14th Congress. The main item
in that agenda concededly is how to sustain the countrys economic growth and render it more competitive with
our neighbors.
But recently Puno was contradicted by no less than his own party president, Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who said 45
Kampi members, together with about 20 members of Lakas-CMD, De Venecias own party, were planning to
support the candidacy of newly elected Cebu 2nd District Rep. Pablo Garcia, a former three-term House
member. Villafuerte virtually accused Puno of not knowing what he was talking about.
***
The floating of Garcias name came as a surprise, as many had suspected that Villafuerte himself, one of two
brilliant Bicolanos (the other being Rep. Edcel Lagman) who fought the two impeachment moves against
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, would challenge De Venecia in De Venecia's quest to create history by
running for an unprecedented 5th term as Speaker.
But in the days immediately following the elections, rumors circulated that Villafuerte wasnt interested in the
speakership, but would gladly settle as chair of the most powerful committee on appropriations. Another
congressman being eyed as a possible challenger to De Venecia was Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, his

capable majority floor leader, but then logic seemed to dictate that it would be better for Nograles to seek to
succeed De Venecia, who will be on his last term this time.
***
The two candidates come from the two most populous provinces, Pangasinan and Cebu, and the two biggest
political groups, Lakas with 92 elected members in the House, and Kampi with 65 members. De Venecia has
few equals in parliamentary skills and enjoys a vast network of contacts abroad that he has harnessed in the
countrys favor. Garcia is a respected constitutionalist but his parliamentary leadership skills are untried.
Besides, he may be a bit too old for the rigors of running the House daily. Then, too, some members of the
Garcia family face a number of controversies as well as the dynasty issue.
As four-term Speaker, De Venecia has his own band of fierce loyalists across the country. This includes Deputy
Speaker for the Visayas Raul del Mar, who told this columnist in Cebu a few days before the elections that he
and the other Cebuano legislators were squarely behind De Venecias candidacy. We wont consider anyone
else, stressed Del Mar, and fellow Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco was nodding. That picture might change if
Garcia is able to rally the Visayan members.
***
The floating of Garcias name may actually be rooted in deeper issues. Villafuerte said in the media that a new
leader could strike a better rapprochement with the Senate, to work out a more effective turnout of laws. The
inference was that after De Venecia unsuccessfully pushed Charter change, his relationship with the Senate
could be tough to mend. But a cooperative Senate may be a pipe dream, given that the four or five presidential
hopefuls in the Senate are not expected to give President Arroyo a chance to look better.
At the heart of this new challenge could be the Charter change issue itself. De Venecia is perceived as not
giving up on Charter change as the vehicle for economic take-off, preferably led by himself, whereas Pabling
Garcia fought the peoples initiative right up to the Supreme Court.
***
Ultimately, the speakership issue, as all House members know, is one vote, that of the President. Villafuerte was
quoted as opining that this issue is an internal matter to the House, and that Ms Arroyo would stay neutral.
Most pundits would agree that the speakership issue is directly related to her own perception of her survival.
If President Arroyo thinks that a third impeachment move against her has utterly no chance, she could
strengthen the candidate of Kampi, the group she built up to push her personal agenda. This group could be
expected to push for Charter change to try to keep her beyond 2010. In case she swings support to Garcia, she
should calibrate her moves very well, as abandoning the man who rallied to her no less than three times, on
July 8, 2005 and in two impeachment attempts, would make her look very Machiavellian indeed, confirming
what her worst critics have long been asserting.

DISCIPLINE AND DEVELOPMENT: PAGKABAYANI

Let me begin by sharing with you an anecdote that is often used to illustrate the idea of
leadership by example. This is the story of Mahatma Gandhi counseling a child to remove a
bad habit.

A lady reached Mahatma Gandhi with her 10-year old child. She told
Gandhi, "Sir, my son has a bad habit of eating a lot of sweets. I have been
telling him to reduce eating sweets, but he does not listen to me. Sir, the
whole nation listens to you, and you are a revered personality. I am sure
my son too will heed to your advice. Please tell him not to eat too much of
these sweets."
Mahatma Gandhi thought for a while and asked the lady to bring her son
again after a week.
After a week, the lady again took her son to Mahatma. Mahatma Gandhi
put his hand on the head of the boy and told him, "My dear child, don't eat
jaggery too much. It can be harmful". The conversation ended.
The bewildered lady asked the Mahatma, "Sir, this was simple. You could
have told him the same thing last week itself! Why did you have to make
us come again after a week?"
Mahatma told the lady, "I myself used to take these sweets till last week. I
needed a weeks' time to quit eating sweets so that I could counsel your
son with conviction."
The lady bowed in reverence to Mahatma Gandhi and took leave of him.
This story from our side of the world exquisitely suggests the profound difficulty of merely
preaching behavioral change or, for our purpose this afternoon discipline.
To my mind, discipline requires proper role modelling. We need more icons of leadership
and discipline for today as we face many crises in our national life.
In this blessed gathering, we are honoring young and youthful icons of discipline.
The National Discipline Awards is an affirmation of Dr. Jose Rizals dictum that the youth is
the hope of our motherland.
Allow me then to share some of my ideas on the virtue of discipline and its impact on our
national life.
In the West, there has been much debate over disciplining the youth, especially as regards
corporal punishment for children in general. In our country today, the debate may not have
been that marked as many parents and teachers, it would seem, still agree with
Machiavellis maxim: "It is better to be feared than loved."
While there may be continued affirmation of the appropriateness of Machiavellian precepts
on parenting in the Philippines, indeed many have questioned the use of the rod in recent
decades.
In fact, United Nations human rights standards now prohibit all corporal punishment.
However, corporal punishment of children is legal in schools in at least 60 nations. In the
United States, corporal punishment remains legal in 23 of her states, except where
prohibited by local school boards.
In the case of our Department of Education, corporal punishment is unacceptable. Media
has not lacked in many documentaries of abusive mentors.
Still, the rod rings for some as the Good Book itself tells us of King Solomons advise:
Discipline your children and they will give you rest. He qualifies that. He said, "He who

spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. Remember,
the wise King warns: "A mother is disgraced by a neglected child.
These Biblical propositions engender conservative attitudes in many of our brethren today.
However, our fellow Christians may need to also remember what Paul had to say in the New
Testament. He said, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in
the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
St. Pauls caveat reminds us of a lesson from our National Hero. Chapter 35 of Rizals Noli
Me Tangere offers us a glimpse of what Rizal may have to say about the way Filipinos
discipline their children especially when they are in front of others. He observes that, in his
time, Filipino parents were very domineering. Hence, a lot of kids grew up meek and timid.
Thus, the inner talents of the Filipino children could not surface because they were made
subservient beginning with a supposedly loving parent's glare or pinch.
Indeed, such observation invites us to analyze our view of the concept of discipline.
We can perhaps begin with the Cambridge dictionary which defines discipline as the ability
to control oneself or other people, even in difficult situations.
Premised on this seemingly simple definition, one can readily perceive the continuing need
for discipline in our communities.
We continue to be in difficult situations. We are a nation in crisis. This is how some
alarmingly put it. Not a few have observed that there is a general breakdown of discipline
among the citizenry, in the bureaucracy, and in the leadership class of the nation. I agree
that our country needs future leaders who are imbued with the virtue of discipline and who
can, in turn, inspire our citizens by being living examples of personal, social and moral
discipline.
Perhaps what we need is, to borrow from Diane A. Davis of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, a disciplinary regime of development.
A link between the self-discipline or mere personal discipline that a Filipino citizen cultivates
and the national project of nation building and national development must be defined.
Davis concept of a disciplinary regime of development actually pertains to a model of
development that calls for a balanced growth between rural and urban areas, with an
emphasis on rural development and, hence, on the coordination of cross-sectoral gains.
Davis calls for an aggressively interventionist state embedded with rural middle classes
that husbands this outcome through the use of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and
sectoral discipline.
In short, if we are to draw out the possible applicability of Daviss model on Philippine
realities, it is argued that discipline could be viewed as more than a matter of the personal
and the individual. It is not a micro-matter. It has macro implications and applications.
The Asian Human Rights Commission articulated this more pointedly in the case of Sri
Lanka:
The link between discipline and development is no other than the link
between development and law. A lawless society cannot produce the
discipline needed for the functioning of basic economic and social
institutions, which deliver the required services for a vibrant economy.
With a breakdown in law, corruption becomes widespread and inevitably
affects the economy... The failure to enforce discipline within the state
bureaucracy remains the primary cause for Sri Lanka's failure in the
economic sphere

Let me belabor this point. The Asian Human Rights Commission said:
Discipline only becomes a part of civilian life when it prevails within state
agencies. Lawless agencies create an obstacle to the establishment of
discipline within society. This obstacle cannot be overcome in any way but
through attempts to reinforce discipline within the state bureaucracies.
Our own Makati Business Club had this related insight on the link between discipline and
development when it said:
A society with a large proportion of its people living below the poverty line
is an inherently weak and conflict-ridden society, even if democratic
structures and processes exist. Conversely, an affluent society which fails
to exercise discipline and responsibility for the benefit of the greater good
is a potentially self-destructive society
Thus, in the quest for peace, we must address both our
underdevelopment and the need for responsibility and discipline. The need
for considering the national situation must be impressed upon our people
at the same time that we encourage greater initiative and productivity with
the concept of balanced growth and sustainable development.
Now, following the logic set by these propositions, if the personal decisions that we make
comprise the national character of this country and shapes its development trajectory, then
there must indeed be cause for alarm.
Let me read a seemingly innocuous piece of campus journalism from a known institution of
higher learning in this country. The article I cite here talks of an icon in their campus
their so-called Ms. Intrams. A part of the description of their local beauty queen-cum-model
student said this:
Our Ms. Intrams has firm values in life. I value faith in God, respect for
my parents (returning their love and support in bringing me up); humility
(always keep your feet on the ground); compassion and patience. I strive
to practice these in everyday life by respecting my parents and my
teachers; by being friendly always and by putting up a smile so that I
won't be misinterpreted, Zita said. After graduating, I will take up my
board exams then I will go to Canada. I will fulfill the requirement there to
stay for at least two years to be able to be granted a Canadian citizenship.
Perhaps I will work as a nurse first if I will have the opportunity. I would
also like to take up Medicine in the future."
I do not know if anyone else here got pricked by a line there, but let me be the pin and
poke some more. Outside of me, as it were, I wish this Ms. Intrams the best, but pardon
my sarcasmthis promising young lass, however, it seems, wants to take up Medicine to
serve Canadians.
I am not sure if this is the kind of thinking that we want to promote. Is this the kind of
icons we want to really have? Is this the mindset that we want to emulate?
I know that Rizal is called Bayani, not simply because he was a literary genius, or that he
was an extraordinarily talented Filipino. He is a Bayani because at the sacrifice of his
personal and familys interest and ultimately, his life he dared to offer a cure for the
social illness that afflicted his country his Bayan, Filipinas.
Now, therefore, it must be asked: Are we talking merely of the rod and of one child when
we advocate discipline? No, definitely not!

We are talking here of realizing a vision for this country. We are talking of development. We
are talking of good government.
When we say discipline, therefore, we are also talking of a specific national orientation,
because one can always ask: Discipline for what? In whose interest?
A disciplined person, I submit, is a critical thinker. He is a responsible citizen. He is a
participative actor in the community and in the national polity. He harmonizes his personal
interest with the interest of the nation as a whole.
We cannot merely utter motherhood statements on discipline, and just mouth generally
accepted values like faith, respect, humility, compassion and patience like lovable Ms.
Intrams who dreams of a Canadian citizenship.
In these times when the national situation requires it, we must be able to identify our own
interest with that of the nation. Even as we face and embrace the changes and challenges
brought about by globalization, we remain steadfast to a commitment to serve our nation,
our people, especially the least fortunate among us.
And this is what I see in these young faces here today a proof of the strength of the
Filipino peoples moral fiber.
These hope-filled faces are what the National Discipline Awards are all about the hopes of
the nation, a disciplined people, a people who are not just empowered, but citizens who
care. We have only the AY Foundation to thank for reminding us of the importance of
discipline in community building and development. The Foundation has been most gracious
and consistent over the years in its passion to embody and promote what its founder,
Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco, has termed the social return on investment.
And this, to my mind, is precisely at the heart of the matter of discipline a profound
grasp of the social. Discipline is ultimately a social matter. It is pagkabayani.
Mabuhay ang ating mga bagong bayani! Mabuhay ang kabataang Filipino.
Maraming salamat po!