Former senator Paterno remembered on 5th death anniversary
Published Nov 24, 2019 12:00 am
By Roy Mabasa
In commemoration of his fifth death anniversary, former Senator Vicente “Ting” Paterno, who died on November 21, 2014, was remembered not just for his honesty and dedication to public service, but also for his “enduring legacies” that led to several successful diplomatic and trade negotiations with powerful countries during his time.
Former senator Vicente Paterno (NAMFREL / MANILA BULLETIN)
The narrative of Paterno’s accomplishments in the areas of diplomacy and trade was contained in an essay entitled “All Guts and Glory: Remembering Senator Vicente ‘Ting’ Paterno” which was written by Foreign Service scholar Geronimo Suliguin.
In his essay, Suliguin noted that one of Paterno’s enduring legacies was his role in opening the door for trade negotiations with the People’s Republic of China when he was head of the newly created trade ministry during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
“In 1974, a year before the formal diplomatic and trade relations were established between Manila and Beijing, Paterno was given full powers to negotiate a Trade Agreement with China’s Foreign Trade Minister Li Chang. Paterno and Li signed the agreement in 1975 in the presence of President Marcos and Deng Xiaoping during the inauguration of Philippines-China relations,” Suliguin wrote.
Paterno served concurrently as chair of the Board of Investments (BOI) and minister of trade and industry.
Suliguin noted that during Paterno’s time at the BOI, the businessman-turned-politician crafted the Philippine investment policy and introduced and shepherded innovations like the Progressive Car Manufacturing Program (PCMP), export incentives and wider Bonded warehouses, recognition of Non-Traditional Exports, the industrial priorities program that provided incentives to countryside and small business.
The late senator was likewise involved in other diplomatic negotiations including the US Export-Import Bank concerning loans to the government.
On the Philippines-Japan relations, Paterno was instrumental in ensuring steps that helped improve the ties between Manila and Tokyo when he accompanied the Keidanren mission to the Philippines in 1970-71.
Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) is a powerful and comprehensive economic organization comprising Japan’s major companies.
Suliguin said the Keidanren mission proved “instrumental” in the commencement of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Highway project.
Also in 1974, Paterno was primarily involved in ending the Laurel-Langley Agreement with the United States, an agreement originally signed in 1955 that gave full parity rights to American citizens and businesses.
After its termination, Suligin said foreign direct investments (FDIs) were registered from Europe and there were increased investments from Japan.
As an “exponent of principled governance," Suliguin wrote: “He refused to ‘surrender his independence or integrity’. He resigned from the Marcos’ cabinet and began delivering speeches against graft and corruption in the government. He advocated for national reconciliation within and outside the halls of Batasang Pambansa as an Assemblyman.”
Paterno resigned from the then ruling party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) in 1983. In 1987, he won a senate seat.
In the Senate, Paterno, was one of the 10 who voted for the extension for another seven years of the agreement on US military bases in the Philippines, as he believed that it was in the country’s best interest acknowledging the country’s ill-equipped military.
Paterno took up mechanical engineering at the University of the Philippines and earned his MBA at the Harvard Business School. He returned home to work in the corporate sector. He joined the government in 1969 as Chair of the Board of Investments after a very successful stint at Manila Electric Co.
Paterno spoke of his life as moving through the corporate sector, civil service, and entrepreneurship. He navigated these sectors successfully by following his gut and accepting his fate. Like the other Alphans of Tau Alpha, he lived for what he knew was right, a high and honorable life,” wrote Suliguin who is now the Assistant Director at the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs handling the Middle East (except Saudi Arabia) and African portfolios.
Former senator Vicente Paterno (NAMFREL / MANILA BULLETIN)
The narrative of Paterno’s accomplishments in the areas of diplomacy and trade was contained in an essay entitled “All Guts and Glory: Remembering Senator Vicente ‘Ting’ Paterno” which was written by Foreign Service scholar Geronimo Suliguin.
In his essay, Suliguin noted that one of Paterno’s enduring legacies was his role in opening the door for trade negotiations with the People’s Republic of China when he was head of the newly created trade ministry during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
“In 1974, a year before the formal diplomatic and trade relations were established between Manila and Beijing, Paterno was given full powers to negotiate a Trade Agreement with China’s Foreign Trade Minister Li Chang. Paterno and Li signed the agreement in 1975 in the presence of President Marcos and Deng Xiaoping during the inauguration of Philippines-China relations,” Suliguin wrote.
Paterno served concurrently as chair of the Board of Investments (BOI) and minister of trade and industry.
Suliguin noted that during Paterno’s time at the BOI, the businessman-turned-politician crafted the Philippine investment policy and introduced and shepherded innovations like the Progressive Car Manufacturing Program (PCMP), export incentives and wider Bonded warehouses, recognition of Non-Traditional Exports, the industrial priorities program that provided incentives to countryside and small business.
The late senator was likewise involved in other diplomatic negotiations including the US Export-Import Bank concerning loans to the government.
On the Philippines-Japan relations, Paterno was instrumental in ensuring steps that helped improve the ties between Manila and Tokyo when he accompanied the Keidanren mission to the Philippines in 1970-71.
Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) is a powerful and comprehensive economic organization comprising Japan’s major companies.
Suliguin said the Keidanren mission proved “instrumental” in the commencement of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Highway project.
Also in 1974, Paterno was primarily involved in ending the Laurel-Langley Agreement with the United States, an agreement originally signed in 1955 that gave full parity rights to American citizens and businesses.
After its termination, Suligin said foreign direct investments (FDIs) were registered from Europe and there were increased investments from Japan.
As an “exponent of principled governance," Suliguin wrote: “He refused to ‘surrender his independence or integrity’. He resigned from the Marcos’ cabinet and began delivering speeches against graft and corruption in the government. He advocated for national reconciliation within and outside the halls of Batasang Pambansa as an Assemblyman.”
Paterno resigned from the then ruling party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) in 1983. In 1987, he won a senate seat.
In the Senate, Paterno, was one of the 10 who voted for the extension for another seven years of the agreement on US military bases in the Philippines, as he believed that it was in the country’s best interest acknowledging the country’s ill-equipped military.
Paterno took up mechanical engineering at the University of the Philippines and earned his MBA at the Harvard Business School. He returned home to work in the corporate sector. He joined the government in 1969 as Chair of the Board of Investments after a very successful stint at Manila Electric Co.
Paterno spoke of his life as moving through the corporate sector, civil service, and entrepreneurship. He navigated these sectors successfully by following his gut and accepting his fate. Like the other Alphans of Tau Alpha, he lived for what he knew was right, a high and honorable life,” wrote Suliguin who is now the Assistant Director at the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs handling the Middle East (except Saudi Arabia) and African portfolios.