THE AUDACITY OF

PRINCIPLED POLITICS
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By JOVITO R. SALONGA
2007 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee
for Government Service
Presented at the 49th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Lecture Series
29 August, 2007, Manila, Philippines
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I. Definition of Terms
I suppose the title of the lecture assigned to me might have been inspired
by the book of Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope, which has become
a consistent New York Times best seller for non-fiction since it came off
the press in 2006 only a year ago. Many of those who bought the book
might have been affected by a number of factors, apart from plain
curiosity: (1) Barack Obamas phenomenal rise in American politics,
from a relatively obscure black legislator in Illinois to a leading contender
for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States,
competing with Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the well-known senator
from New York; (2) Obamas record as a top scholar in Harvard Law
School, where he became the first African-American president of the
prestigious Harvard Law Review; (3) Obamas unique backgroundhis
father was from Kenya but his mother, who greatly influenced his life, is
a white American from a small town in Kansas; (4) how he, as a senator
finally became a Christian, a member of the Trinity United Church in
Chicago, one who writes and speaks of his religious convictions in the
turbulent field of politics.

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In his book, in the chapter of Faith, he says, many Americans want a sense
of purpose, an assurance that somebody cares about them, is listening to
themand that they are not just destined to travel down a long highway
toward nothingness. (p. 202.)
Would it be proper to place the audacity of hope on the same level as
principled politics? Is principled politics audacious?
Yes, in the sense that audacity stands for boldness or daring, with
confident disregard for conventional thinking.
How about principled politics? A politics without principle is a kind of
politics without any ethical or moral sense. Moral sense is the sense of
right and wrong. It is wrong to act based on lying, self-dealing, double
cross, cheating, treachery or expediency. It is right for one in politics to
speak the truth with boldness and work for a transparent, accountable
system of government.
I would like to suggest that principled politics, which depends on a
rational, high-level discussion of relevant issues, was the way politics was
practiced during the time of Senator Claro M. Recto and former Justice
Jose P. Laurel, long before martial law. They did not resort to money
politics, in the sense of buying votes or buying off political leaders or the
media. Having worked for Justice Laurel in the 1969 presidential elections
and collaborated with Senator Recto in a number of important cases in the
early 50s and worked for his reelection as senator a little later, I may be
permitted to assert that both of them were men of principles. On the basis
of personal knowledge, I ascribe their politics of principle to their strong
faith in Divine Providencethe term they employedwhen they drafted
the 1935 Constitution, which, in the view of many legal experts, remains
unsurpassed up to this day.

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II. A Personal TestimonyMy First Two Senatorial Campaigns

In my first two senatorial campaigns before martial law 1965 and 1971
I did not have enough logistics, the euphemism for money politics,
hence, I had no choice but discuss the issues in the belief that our people,
whose native intelligence many other politicians tend to underestimate,
would prefer to use their minds in choosing their candidates for high
office.
I was proved right. According to the records of what used to be the
reputable COMELEC, the constitutional agency with the power and duty
to conduct and administer the elections, I topped the two senatorial
elections in November 1965 when Ferdinand Marcos defeated
incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1965 presidential
election and in the mid-term election of 1971. I was in my sick bed at the
time because of the extensive injuries I suffered as a result of the Plaza
Miranda bombing of August 21, 1971 with more than a hundred tiny
pieces of shrapnel in my body; my left eye could no longer see, my right
ear could no longer hear, I was then hovering between life and death. My
34 doctors who volunteered their services thought I had no more than a
5% chance to live. But against all odds, I survived.
How can one explain this miracle of survival? Chief Justice Reynato S.
Puno, in reviewing my latest book, titled Not by Power or Wealth Alone,
gives the following explanation:
But what may not be captured by the public eye is the unseen sword of
the Christian faith and the shield of his unyielding moral courage that
many are known to have little regard for: the values of truth, integrity and
selflessness...the Christian anchor of both his public service and private
life.

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The Chief Justice, however, is a prominent layman of the United

Methodist Church. Perhaps, one may say he could be biased, since I am
also a layman of Cosmopolitan Church, UCCP.
Roman Catholic Bishop Socrates B. Villegas of the Diocese of Balanga,
Bataan, says he was born and raised in the quaint town of Pateros, Rizal,
and that his father admired Salonga, a politician from the neighboring
town of Pasig. When he became the priest secretary of the late Jaime
Cardinal L. Sin, his second father, he came to admire even more
(Salonga), the living martyr of the Plaza Miranda bombing. In his
comment on my latest book, he tells us why:
This politician was unique and different from the rest. His political
career has a soul. His government service has a conscience. His life
witnessing is edifying. From his intimate encounter with God in prayer,
he entered politics. From his political engagement, he returned to his
prayer corner and submitted all to Him who is Everything. He serves God
as a politician, and God is glorified in his political service.
Another devout Catholic, former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban,
who was a talented student in the Institute of Law of FEU, says in his
Foreword to my latest book:
Though we are of different faiths...we never talked of what divided us but
only of what brought us together. One thought that always united us was,
and still is, the role of faith in our lives...In concluding this Foreword, I
now daresay that our good Lord had granted him a long and purposeful
life, because he wanted him to be the conscience of the nation...
(incidentally, the title of his subsequent column in the Inquirer on August
19, 2007).
The paradox is that my contemporaries in politics, led by Senators
Lorenzo M. Taada, Ninoy Aquino and Pepe Diokno, who were not
victims of the Plaza Miranda bombing, passed away. A good number of
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doctors who saved my life are gone. A few have migrated to the United
States.
Some people may not know that I am Protestantmy father was a poor
Presbyterian Minister, and my mother, a poor market vendor, was a
woman of faith and spirituality. Because of the influence of my parents,
my life in politics and outside politics has been anchored on the Christian
faith, despite the fact that like all sinners, I have fallen short in more ways
than one.
In truth, I had been assailed by many a doubt about my Christian faith (I
sometimes considered myself a skeptic) when, after going underground to
counteract the Japanese propaganda, I was captured and imprisoned by
the Japanese kempeitai in Pasig during Holy Week of 1942. It was the
infliction of torture by the kempeitai in the presence of my aging father,
my stay in Fort Santiago, then in the Old Bilibid in Manila, and finally in
the New Bilibid in Muntinglupa, that rekindled my broken faith. For
almost a year, by common consent, I led in the evening prayers in my
brigada where convicted criminals and political prisoners were together
on bended knees.
III.
After one term as a congressman and three terms as a senator, I retired
from partisan politics in 1992 indeed I am no longer can active member
of the Liberal Party, since my active involvement in civil society. I
founded and organized Kilosbayan in 1993, mainly to arouse public
interest and participation in important questions of public policy, in light
of the right of the people to their own governance and on the basis of
civilized norms of morality, justice, truth and ethics. Its officers, trustees
and members are Roman Catholics and Protestants. The President of
Kilosbayan today, ex-Secretary Rafael M. Alunan III, who succeeded me,
is a Roman Catholic; the Vice-President, Dr. Quintin S. Doromal, is a
Protestant, the former President of Silliman University. In a deeper sense,
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we in Kilosbayan are involved in non-partisan politics, in the same

manner as priests and nuns, the Protestant pastors and laymen like me,
followed Cardinal Jaime Sin in February 1986. You recall the Cardinal
called on the people, through Radio Veritas, to support Defense Minister
Juan Ponce Enrile and PC Chief Fidel V. Ramos in mounting the EDSA I
People Power Revolution against the Marcos regime.
On Recto Day, February 8, 2000, ex-Secretary of Justice and exAmbassador Sedfrey A. Ordoez and I founded and organized Bantay
Katarungan, an NGO, to help improve and modernize our system of
justice in the Philippines, with the help of young students of idealism and
competence from the best law schools in Metro ManilaUP, Ateneo, San
Beda, UST, FEU and Lyceum. It was inaugurated by Chief Justice Hilario
G. Davide, assisted by Associate Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, who
succeeded Davide as Chief Justice. Our first Chairman was Amb. Sedfrey
Ordoez, my law partner for 33 years, who, because of failing health, was
replaced by former UP Law Dean Raul C. Pangalangan.
We reach out to young college students, our nations hope for tomorrow,
through the Kilosbayan Forum, which is being held from time to time.
The last Forum was held last July 27, in Lyceum of the Philippines
University in Intramuros, Manila. Guest Speakers were Senator Mar
Roxas, who spoke on the SONA of President GMA, and Senate President
Franklin M. Drilon who explained the Human Security Act, which is a
misnomer, since it endangers every persons security. Composing the
audience were hundreds of professors and students from Lyceum and
from nearby universities and colleges. Why do we in Kilosbayan do this?
We want to prepare the youth of the land so they will be well informed
and well trained. At the proper time, they can take over the helm of
leadership, hopefully based on the concept of principled politics.

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On the lighter side, I am only 87 years old, compared to the other awardees
of the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation. I say only 87 because life begins at
80. Let me now tell you about the life and work of Dr. Frank Laubach, the
missionary educator who went to Lanao before World War II to live
among the Muslimsthe Maranaos in Lanao. Unlike other missionaries,
he did not try to convince them to be Christians. What he did was to teach
the Muslims how to read and write English in his own unique way of
teaching. He was loved by the Muslims who did not want him to leave.
But he was invited by Mahatma Gandhi to go to India and teach his people
English in his unique method. Laubach went to India and taught them
English. But he was invited to South America to do the same thing, which
he did. When he reached 80, he returned to his home in Pennsylvania to
retire. It was here where he composed his well-known essay, Life Begins
at 80, which I shall read:
Life Begins at 80
By Dr. Frank Laubach
Once you reach 80, everyone wants to carry your baggage and help you
up the steps. If you forget your name, or an appointment, or your own
telephone number or cant remember how many grandchildren you
haveyou only need to explain that you are 80.
Being 80 is a lot better than being 70. At 70, people are mad at you for
everything. At 80, you have a perfect excuse, no matter what you do. If
you act foolishly, its your second childhood.
Being 70 is no fun at all. At 70, they expect you to retire to a house in
(Florida) Baguio and complain about your arthritis. And you ask
everybody to stop mumbling because you cant understand them.
Actually, your hearing is about 50% gone.

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If you survive until you are 80, everybody is surprised that you are still
alive. They treat you with respect just for having lived so long. Actually,
they are surprised that you can walk and talk sensibly.
So, please, folks, try to make it to 80. Its the best time of life. If you ask
me, life begins at 80.

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