The RH factor

ENQUIRY
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

The RH factor
Wednesday, 08 26, 2009

Sen. Manuel Roxas II. despite the millions he has already poured into his traysikad infomercials, has yet to furiously pedal uphill to reach the top of the surveys.

It is not for want of highways and byways to traverse, so to speak. At every turn he has blown his horn against the Arroyo administration, mouthing expletives in the process and thus making himself the poster boy of those seething with anger against Gloria Arroyo and her minions who cannot seem to do anything right for the country.

Neither is it for want of paved (a)venues along which he could go free-wheeling at a dizzy speed. The Cheaper Medicines Law should have brought him closer to the consumers. When his traysikad ran over the Legacy conglomerate, the hundreds of thousands of those who were bilked of their dreams should have looked up to Roxas as their savior.

And neither is it for want of events that expose him to the warm and fuzzy embrace of public adulation. He was an ubiquitous presence in the deathwatch over former President Cory Aquino, and in the wake and funeral march that followed. And he even acted as traffic officer during the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Arroyo.

So, what gives? Why the heck can’t Roxas seem to move up from first base to second if not third base now comfortably occupied by others less profligate in their resources in order to score a run in the presidential ball game?

On the other hand, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, a virtual rookie in the Liberal Party dugout before the death of Cory, appears to have been shoved into the playing field as designated hitter of team Liberal. This thunderous acclaim from both teammates and spectators, so to speak, has titillated the imagination of pundits who now see (to continue the baseball metaphor) that, according to the rules, the designated hitter — Noynoy — cannot be used for any other player but the pitcher — Mar Roxas in this instance.

Without much effort beyond the customary hard-to-get stance while weighing his options, Noynoy has suddenly become No. 1 in the batting order of his political party. His enormously popular sister Kris Aquino has not even said a word of endorsement, yet Noynoy appears to have gained the upper hand, relegating Mar to the vice-presidential slot. Just look at the media space alotted to the undeclared political path of Noynoy, urging him to run, and you get the feel that the pitcher has been rendered inutile by the designated hitter.

Our colleagues at the Kapihan sa Sulo call this phenomenon the "Reverse Hit," or the RH factor. They attribute this to the fate of Salvador Laurel in the run-up to the snap presidential elections in 1986. And they apply this to the sudden emergence of Cory from her reluctance to wage battle against Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Applied to Roxas, it simply means that the people do not go for those who try very hard to project themselves for what they are not; the effort at projection hits the people in the reverse. Translated into numbers, it means that for every voter convinced of the sincerity of Roxas in what he projects himself to be, two are hit the other way, repulsed by his efforts, and thereby look to other candidates. And as applied to Noynoy, it simply means that the people prefer those who are not too vociferous about their intentions; that people do not buy the hard-sell that is shoveled on them.

This is probably a reprise of the biblical adage that says those who humble themselves shall be exalted, and those who exalt themselves shall be humbled.

It does not help the cause of Roxas any that stalwarts of the LP like former Senate President Jovito Salonga proclaim their preference for a Mar-Noynoy tandem. These stalwarts comprise the minority, though they may have a more auidible voice but not necessarily a convincing one. But it is the numbers that always matter. The LP should dig deep into its nationwide membership, and see how they exactly feel. It is refreshing to hear other leaders of the LP — without indicating their preference of who should carry the LP banner — saying their party will go through the selection process. And when this presently fragmented party does, they should heed the words of Lito Atienza: "Only Noynoy can unite the LP."

The quest of Roxas for his party’s nomination is imploding. At this late stage where the filing of certificates of candidacy is just three months away, Roxas’s inability to equal or surpass, say, Estrada in the ratings game, despite the vast resources and efforts put in to achieve that goal, is making a lot of his supporters fidgety. Organized five years ago, the personal Roxas machinery has not reached even 50 percent of the provinces, cities and municipalities of the country. (I was in Ilocos Norte the other week, and I did not see, much less feel the palpable presence of a Roxas organization.)

Some say that Noynoy, similarly, does not have the same personal organization to rival that of Roxas’. But given the slow pace of the Roxas traysikad, which is now lumbering on the road with shaky gears, the magic of the Aquino name will capture within three months the critical mass of supporters that will propel the candidacy of Noynoy. Cory in 1986 had even a lesser time.

Not even the much hyped October wedding of Roxas to popular broadcaster Korina Sanchez will haul in the votes for Roxas. Expect the RH factor to work against him. He will invite only those who can be accommodated in church. How about the rest? There is nothing spontaneous about people’s presence in or around the church where a wedding is celebrated, but there is definitely something appalling and exploitative about repeated public discussion about the wedding, and it rubs people the wrong way.

Compare that to the spontaneous outpouring of support for the Aquinos at the deaths of Ninoy and Cory. Noynoy did not exploit it; neither did any member of his family. That is the same kind of outpouring that Noynoy will expect when he decides to run for president.


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The IBP story; another version (2)

ENQUIRY
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

The IBP story; another version (2)
Tuesday, 08 18, 2009

The following is a continuation of a paper circulated by concerned lawyers in reaction to the series of articles by former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, himself a former chapter president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP):

"Upon receiving the protest from Soriano, executive vice president and member of the Board of Governors (BoG) Rogelio Vinluan asked Bautista to call for a special meeting, as required by the By-laws, to address the matter. Bautista refused.

"Instead, Bautista sent a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno requesting for a clarification with regard to the interpretation of the By-laws provision pertaining to the election of additional delegates. Urging the Chief Justice to issue a clarificatory order, Bautista argued that "additional delegates shall be elected only from the remaining duly elected officers."

"Bautista failed to mention that Loanzon and Laqui, while elected officers, still failed to get themselves elected as delegates. Furthermore, he requested the clarificatory order two days after he already ruled through an April 24 memorandum that additional delegates should be officers to qualify — sweeping aside the April 23 resolution issued by five members of the BoG. In effect, he was seeking clarification on an action that he had already undertaken. He also did not inform the Chief Justice that a protest has already been filed by Soriano to the BoG in accordance with the procedures stated in the By-laws.

"With Bautista’s refusal, five members of the BoG called for a special meeting on April 30, 2009 to address the election protests involving the following IBP regions: Western Visayas, Western Mindanao and the GMR.

"Failing to get a response from the Chief Justice, Bautista’s next course of action was to send a letter to the BoG complaining that "to conduct a special meeting on April 30, 2009 to hear and resolve the election protests would amount to gross disregard of the basic requirements of due process and fair play." Bautista also issued a memorandum directing Marohomsalic (Western Mindanao), Fortunato (Western Visayas), and Maramba (GMR) to file their response to the protest within 10 days of their receipt of the memo — a period not provided by the By-laws and is far longer than the time frame given for the protest itself to be filed. The By-laws clearly stated that an election protest has to be filed with BoG within two days and that the BoG has to act on the protest immediately.

"On April 30, the BoG met and nullified the Greater Manila Region (GMR) elections for governor held on April 25, 2009. The special election for the seat of the GMR governor was scheduled for May 4, 2009.

"In attendance during the May 4 special election were Abelardo Estrada, Bonifacio Barandon, Evergisto Escalon. Raymund Jorge Mercado and EVP Rogelio Vinluan. The assembly took place at the IBP National Office and was held in accordance with the By-laws which states that special meetings may be called by five members of the board.

"The special election was held despite scare tactics and false information being floated around to discourage delegates from attending. Maramba’s supporters boycotted the elections but a small group was holed up in the third floor, apparently keeping watch of the unfolding events.

"Bautista was also a no-show at the election, although he found time to hold a press conference in the morning to complain about the supposed lack of due process by the BoG in handling Soriano’s protest.

"Magsino made an appearance just moments before the election proceedings began and declared it illegal, stating that only the governor of the GMR (meaning himself) has the right to call for and conduct an election in the said region. This was despite the fact that the election was scheduled by the BoG. A study of the By-laws revealed that no such authority has been vested on any single governor from any region. It is the BoG, as a body, that schedules the elections and not any single governor.

"The special election was conducted by the BoG with EVP Vinluan presiding to ensure impartiality. Also present was Governor Raymund Jorge Mercado. Serving as observer for the election was Judge Guillermo Agloro. Vinluan as presiding officer noted Magsino’s position, and proceeded with the special election as ordered by the BOG.

"Soriano was elected GMR governor. Soriano obtained 15 votes — acquiring a clear majority of the 25 delegates from the five chapters of GMR eligible to cast a ballot. His opponent, Maramba, did not attend.

"Five days later, the elections for the position of executive vice president was held at the National Office of the IBP in Ortigas. Soriano garnered six votes from his fellow members of the incoming BoG. Present were Amador Tolentino Jr. (Southern Luzon), Jose Cabrera (Bicolandia), Erwin Fortunato (Western Visayas), Roland Inting (Eastern Visayas), Benjamin Lanto (Western Mindanao), who voted unanimously for Soriano (Greater Manila Region). Presiding over the election was EVP Vinluan. Also present were outgoing IBP Governors Estrada, Barandon, Escalon and Mercado.

"Across the IBP Board Room at the Office of the President, Bautista held his own elections and proclaimed Roan Libarios as executive vice president.

"As a result, cases were filed at the Supreme Court to resolve the matter.

"Here, though incomplete, the story must come to a halt. Like the unconditional trust of a child to his mother, there is an unwavering faith that once the black robes are donned, personal biases and affiliations are cast aside and the case is viewed with fresh, probing, and clear eyes for what it truly is — that matter must be resolved in accordance with the dictates of the law, guided by the irrepressible spirit of justice, and revealed by the intense luminosity of truth."


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The IBP story; another version (1)

ENQUIRY

DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

The IBP story; another version (1)
Sunday, 08 16, 2009

At the Kapihan sa Sulo yesterday, a group of lawyers concerned over the series of articles in another daily by former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, circulated their own version of the events leading to the present controversy over the leadership of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). Here is their story:

“While the science, art and business of law have always been rooted in semantics, its wisdom and nobility lies only in truth. And though words can be interpreted, re-interpreted and twisted, the certainty of facts cannot be taken to mean any other way.

“With the many legal issues that have been plaguing the leadership of the IBP, what once were clear waters have been turned murky.

“But there is a story that is rarely being told. Because rather than resorting to empty rhetoric and flamboyant displays in the spotlight, it has chosen to take shelter in the remedies that the law has provided for, and quietly follow the path laid out by the justice system. It is the story based on truth, supported by documents, and sustained by the letter of the law. And it all begins with a correspondence.

“The whole IBP leadership squabble began with a flurry of Board resolutions and memos set into motion by a letter dated April 15, 2009 sent by Victoria Loanzon, two days before the meeting of the IBP Board of Governors (BOG). In her letter, Loanzon was seeking clarification on the application of the IBP By-laws with regard to chapters with more than one delegate.

“It has to be understood that the Governors are elected by region as represented by the different chapters. Each chapter has a designated number of delegates. The delegates are chapter members in good standing and are elected by the chapter officers. Once elected as delegates, they, in turn, vote for the Governor.

“The BOG consists of nine Governors representing the different regions of the country, and the IBP National President. The President presides over meetings but is the lone member of the BOG with no voting powers. The Governors do not vote for a president. Instead, they vote for an Executive Vice President (EVP) who automatically assumes the presidency after two years.

“Loanzon’s query came as a surprise to many, for two reasons: 1) The By-laws clearly states that additional delegates “shall be elected by the Board of Officers of the Chapter from among the general membership who are in good standing to include the remaining duly elected officers and members of the Board.”; and 2) Loanzon was a former chapter president and should have been knowledgeable of the By-laws. Furthermore, the tradition of allowing non-officers to be elected as delegates has been practiced in all of the past elections and has never been questioned until that letter of Loanzon.

“During the April 17, 2009 meeting of the BOG, a resolution providing that “…in case of Chapters entitled to more than two delegates… the additional delegates shall be elected by the Board of Officers of the Chapter only from among the remaining duly elected officers and members of the Board” was proposed for adoption. Three of the five governors in attendance – Magsino, Ramon Edison Batacan and Carlos Valdez Jr. – voted in favor of the resolution. Evergisto Escalon voted against it. Raymund Jorge Mercado initially abstained, but eventually in favor of it.

“Realizing the impact of the resolution on the impending elections as well as its gross violation of the By-laws, five members of the BOG repeatedly requested IBP National President Feliciano Bautista to call for an emergency meeting to discuss the controversial resolution. Bautista chose to ignore the requests and refused to call for a meeting.

“On April 23, 2009, a special meeting of the BOG was held to resolve the same issue, despite Bautista’s inaction. The By-laws allows for a special meeting as long as five members are in attendance. Present were EVP Rogelio Vinluan, Abelardo Estrada, Bonifacio Barandon Jr., Escalon, and Mercado.

“The five unanimously voted to recall the April 17 resolution, stating that it was not a mere resolution but was an amendment to the By-laws since it limits the election of delegates where no such limitations existed before. And according to the By-laws, only the Supreme Court can make amendments to the By-laws.

“In response, Bautista issued a memorandum on April 23, 2009 to the members of the BOG wherein the non-voting member effectively overruled the decision made by five voting members of the Board. Bautista upheld the April 17 resolution which Magsino faithfully carried out during the April 25 election.

“During the election for the Greater Manila Region Governor, Magsino called the Quezon City Chapter Board meeting held on April 23 illegal and declared the election of the QC Chapter delegates who were non-officers as null. When asked to clarify, Magsino confirmed that delegates should be both qualified (meaning, a Chapter officer) and elected by the Chapter Board to be a delegate. While both Loanzon and Laqui were officers, neither was elected by the Chapter Board of Quezon City to represent them as delegates for the election.

“Despite being informed repeatedly by Quezon City Chapter president Tranquil Salvador III that Loanzon and Laqui were not elected delegates, Magsino still declared them as official representatives and allowed them to vote. Loanzon and Laqui were known supporters of Manuel Maramba, one of the candidates for Governor.

“Maramba received 13 votes to Elpidio Soriano III’s 12. The latter filed a protest to nullify the April 25 elections on the grounds that: 1) That non-delegates were allowed to vote; 2) That the IBP Quezon City Chapter’s choice of regular delegates was illegally supplanted by outgoing GMR Governor Magsino; 3) and, that the election was conducted with premeditated gross partiality on the part of Magsino.

[to be continued tomorrow. Ed]

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So who’s got the torch now?

ENQUIRY

DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

So, who’s got the torch now?
Sunday, 08 09, 2009

He or she who aspires to lead the country must inspire.

In the aftermath of the death of former President Cory Aquino, the gift to inspire is the standard by which all aspirants to the seat of the Philippine presidency must be measured. I refer to prospective aspirants because, unfortunately, that standard cannot apply anymore to the present occupant of the seat, she having become an incorrigible recidivist in the violation of all standards. And most unfortunately, we have to bear with her until June 30 of next year, unless by some miracle we are delivered from her earlier.

The nation needs a leader like Cory, who can mobilize the citizenry to confront the issues that bedevil us. One word from her, and the nation moves to action. Sadly, not one of the present crop of presidentiables, with the exception perhaps of former President Joseph Estrada, can whip a crowd up, whether rightly or wrongly, into a fervor bordering on adulation similar to what we have seen the nation accord to Cory.

The nation needs a leader like Cory who is untainted by corruption, one who exudes decency even as she "does the decent thing" in regard to a situation that is not necessarily in one’s own interests. Like being true to one’s word when one makes a promise not to run again. Sadly, every one, with the exception perhaps of Sen. Loren Legarda, can hoist the standard and claim to wage a decent fight against wrongdoing without being called a hypocrite.

And the nation needs a leader like Cory who can be trusted with the levers of power, without any reservation that she would do whatever is right for the best interests of the nation. Sadly, not one of the present crop of presidentiables, with the exception perhaps of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, can claim to have exercised a quantum of power in just the right amount or level.

We need a leader like Cory who takes one side, sticks to it like a limpet, and fights like a mother hen to protect it. We do not need a presidentiable — so young yet so foxy and calculating, or so filthy rich yet so crass — who publicly mouths epithets against Arroyo and her administration, yet uses backchannels to court her support as her successor. This kind of crafty wheeling-dealing is dangerous, and two frontrunners (I sincerely hope there’s just two) are dangerously close to sealing the endorsement of their respective political parties over to the present ruling caste. Do not expect them to do right for the country, should either one get elected president. Expect them, rather, to pay back their benefactors for their victory.

We need a leader like Cory, one who values family in the hierarchy of loyalties, who treats families with respect the way she treats the nation with full respect of sensibilities. Sadly, only Gov. Among Panlilio among those who have declared their intention to run for president, who is not even himself a family man, fits the bill. On second thought, perhaps one could throw in Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who decently handled his family relations no matter how distant to Cory, to this category.

And we need a leader like Cory who can be the instrument for reconciliation and not discord, who can unite the opposing forces in the political scene and not exacerbate division. Unfortunately, only Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay could come closest to the level of rapprochement and fence-mending powers that Cory wielded.

The solemnity of Cory’s wake or, way before that, the death watch that stretched over one year after she was diagnosed with colon cancer, was exploited by every presidentiable who hoped, as if by contagion, to be "contaminated" with the aura and charisma that surrounded Cory. But nothing tops that opportunist who caused the distribution of yellow bracelets with her picture on the strand, or that bespectacled presidentiable who managed to wedge himself on every footage with Cory, with the subliminal message that she or he is Cory’s anointed. Their barefaced courtship of Cory’s anointment, or their obvious exploitation of the media coverage to further their candidacy, is downright shameless and despicable.

The mantra "Cory! Cory! Cory!" which resounded over the metropolis for all the days of last week, has died away. And not a moment too soon, as we approach the last day for the filing of certificates of candidacy, expect this glorious mantra to be replaced by the "I-me-and-myself" confident declaration of every presidentiable claiming, by implication or direct assertion, that he or she had Cory’s blessings to carry on the fight, "to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause." Fortunately, Cory left us without saying so who should carry on the torch of decency, courage and freedom. By design, Cory had brought herself above the fray, so to speak, to allow the conflicting claimants to the torch to fight it out among themselves.

Little do these claimants realize that the torch belongs to none of them. The torch has been passed to the new generation of Filipinos empowered by the death of Cory, who would fight on to elect to the presidency somebody who would light the way in the same fashion that Cory drove the powers of darkness by the shining light of her unblemished integrity.

The "Laban!" sign is back. And it does not anymore belong to a particular political party. It now belongs to anyone who flashes it as he makes an intelligent, courageous and moral choice.


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Mind-conditioning (JBC)

ENQUIRY

DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

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Mind-conditioning

Sunday, 08 02, 2009

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Create a situation that will most likely cushion the impact of an otherwise objectionable decision. Dissimulate: camouflage the thing, disguise its appearance, and dazzle your intended targets. This is what the Arroyo administration has been very good at for the past nine years.

They did it again, when Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita returned to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) the short list of six nominees for two vacancies in the Supreme Court. In his letter Ermita asked for additional names from which President Gloria Arroyo would pick out the replacements of retired Supreme Court justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Dante Tinga.

In plain text, what is immediately apparent from Ermita’s letter is that the two anointed choices of the appointing power – Arroyo - are not in the original short list of six. And by inference, the unspoken message is: “Hey, JBC! How few the names you have today. You got to give us some more lambs we can lead to the slaughterhouse!”

Should the JBC oblige, would the requested longer short list - did I just use an oxymoron? -then include Arroyo’s choices? Almost, but not quite. In all probability, Arroyo’s choices are already neatly camouflaged, imbedded, in the original short list of six.

The president is not free to appoint somebody who is not in the list. The procedure outlined in Section 9, Article VIII of the Constitution makes this restriction to the president’s generally vast appointing power very clear: “The Members of the Supreme Court…shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy.” Ermita and Arroyo obviously are not ignorant of this constitutionally prescribed course of action, given the many appointments that have been made to the Supreme Court by Arroyo since she was elevated to the presidency by the Supreme Court pronouncement on Erap’s “constructive resignation” in January 2001.

As expected, there was a nationwide hue and cry against the request for a longer list. Everyone was saying that Ermita’s letter is an attempt at emasculating the JBC. Every opinion writer worth his word processor was calling on the JBC to assert itself and prove its independence from Malacañang. Every wimp of a politician who wished to curry favor with the pillars of the justice system had a word for the dissimulation that the letter contained.

And, of course, everyone expected the JBC itself to remain unflappable, to stick to its original short list of six nominees. If there ever was one, this is the one opportunity for the JBC to refurbish its image. The JBC, for sure, will not budge to include a Devanadera - or some other name that is widely and wildly speculated to be Arroyo’s choice - to the short list. After all, the JBC was created to make sure that the process of screening and nomination to the Judiciary is insulated from politics and that only those with proven competence, integrity, probity and independence will be appointed. In bucking the Malacañang request, the JBC will have earned points for standing up to the appointing power.

But, as they say, forewarned is forearmed; Ermita and Arroyo rightly predicted that all these would come about. They are not experts at mind-conditioning for nothing. In the same fashion that they floated the bogey about the SONA segueing into a joint session for the Con-Ass - and watched the administration critics wipe the eggs splattered all over their faces when the expected maneuver did not materialize last Monday - they have cunningly set the stage for another deception, this time without appearing too publicly devious.

The nominees in the short list of the JBC are Court of Appeals Associate Justices Martin Villarama, Abdulwahid Hakim and Mariano del Castillo; law dean Roberto Abad; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr.; and lawyer Rodolfo Robles. Their competence and probity -and especially where their loyalties will lie when appointed - have been thoroughly dissected and minutely scrutinized. And the JBC having spoken, it is too late in the day to state once more that not one of them can be appointed. Ermita’s letter, however, would have us believe that Arroyo is locked in the horns of a dilemma: she has to pick two from the list, but her preferred choices are not in the list.

But mark this: After all the furor generated by Ermita’s wish for a longer list, and Arroyo’s initial hesitance to appoint two from the six in the original short list, Arroyo will nonetheless appoint the two justices of the Supreme Court from the original short list. She will get her wish, without the public realizing soon enough that she had just added two to her numbers in the Supreme Court.

The incipient opposition to the appointments to be made by Arroyo will have been cushioned by the seeming independence of the JBC to stick to its original short list of six. And Arroyo can very well whistle her way out of the presidency - and on her way to her secret bank accounts - starting June 30, 2010, with the numbers in the Supreme Court already stacked in her favor.

Neat.

===O00===

Today the nation mourns the passing of Former President Corazon C. Aquino. The rest of the world will remember her. Heads of states will eulogize her. Friends and enemies will extol her virtues and gloss over her shortcomings. People whose lives she touched as well as those whose determination to dream the impossible dream should find comfort that, once more, they are united in their collective sorrow for this great woman.

I will not dare unburden the personal sorrow that weights down my heart, and I do not care if the rest of the nation calls me unfeeling and cold. I am merely truly sad that good things and good people must come to an end, while bad things and evil people go on their way with impunity.

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