OF TREES AND FOREST
One of the proudest moments of my political career was being elected Senate President, first, during the latter part of the 13th Congress, and later at the beginning of the 14th Congress. It was truly an honor to be chosen by my esteemed colleagues to lead the upper chamber of the Congress of the Philippines.
The prestige of the Senate Presidency is also due to the fact that in our history, some of the greatest politicians have occupied the post. Manuel Quezon, Manuel Roxas, Ferdinand Marcos (all three would later claim the country’s highest position), Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr., Quintin Paredes, Gil Puyat, Jovito Salonga, Blas Ople, just to name a few. It is virtually the who’s who of Philippine politics.
The SP, as the post is commonly referred to by those inside the chamber, is the most powerful figure in the Senate. Although the traditional thinking is that the SP is regarded as “primus inter pares” or first among equals owing to the fact that the chamber is composed of 24 individuals who have a national mandate having been elected by the entire voting population.
In practice, it is a balancing act. The SP post after all is dependent on the trust and votes of the members of the Senate. When that mandate has been eroded, as we have seen frequently, and which I have also experienced as SP, there will certainly be a drive to change leadership. Just like in most areas of democratic governance, it is a numbers game.
For instance in 2008, rumors were circulating about a Senate coup. I was expecting this because at that time discussions were already heating up with respect to the 2010 presidential elections. The Senate, and the SP in particular, has been known to be the jumping board for those gunning for the presidency. By the same token, when you are perceived to be a threat, people will start gunning you down. But I was raised as a gentleman, so when I was shown a draft resolution signed by the majority, I immediately resigned as Senate President, congratulated the incoming Senate leadership, and ensured continuity in the government institution that I cherished and promised to defend.
As Senate President, one of the things I was most proud of was defending the independence of the upper house. I believed that the Senate’s independence is crucial in sustaining our democracy because it springs from the basic philosophy of separation of powers of co-equal branches of government. In my mind, this was something that cannot be compromised. The autonomy of the institution that I led was something I swore to uphold at all cost.
But I was also pragmatic. I knew that as critical as our independence as an institution was, it was also essential to have a good working relationship with the two other branches of government—the executive and the judiciary. As I said during my speech accepting the SP role: “To be independent is not to be equated with being adversarial.” We cannot be an island. As SP, I knew that one of the tasks was to balance our autonomy and constructive collaboration with the two other co-equal branches. And we were rewarded by the public with the Senate consistently getting higher trust ratings compared to the other agencies of government during my time as Senate President.
I have always had fond memories of my time in Congress. I left the Senate in 2013 and returned to my first love—entrepreneurship. But from time to time, it is nice to reminisce about a time in my life devoted to serving our people as a legislator.
(Email: [email protected] and/or http://www.mannyvillar.com)