Rene Azurin: Railing against power and privilege
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc writes: “Life, it’s said, is a series of habits occasionally disturbed by thoughts. René B. Azurin habitually looks at the big picture, then writes down his thoughts in relation to hot issues of the day. That’s how he sways others to his strategic thinking.”
Bondoc is referring to Azurin’s new and provocative collection of essays on various aspects of Philippine politics, economics, and government. According to Bondoc: “In his book, Power and Privilege (Anvil Publishing), Azurin tears at the trivial posturing of our national rulers.”
In 2005, Dr. Azurin was co-chair of the Committee on Form of Government of the Consultative Commission to propose amendments to the 1987 Philippine Constitution (ConCom). There, he authored the dissenting Minority Report that criticized as illogical and flawed the ConCom majority’s proposal to shift to a parliamentary form of government and an eventual federal structure. He was at the forefront of the subsequent campaign against the massive government effort to actually effect the proposed shift and was responsible for framing the national debate on this issue in terms of the reallocation and concentration of political power.
Azurin is a passionate advocate for dispersed power, small government and open markets. In the preface of his new book, he says that he tries to bring to bear elements of history, political and economic theory and philosophy on public issues in an effort to extend the perspective of the reader beyond the narrow confines of his own particular interest group and into the economy at large and society in general, so that more Filipino citizens will have a better understanding of what public policies will best serve the general welfare.
Philippine Constitution expert Jose Leviste Jr., a delegate to both the 1970 ConCon and the 2005 ConCom, observes: “One does not need to always agree with René Azurin’s often iconoclastic views to concede the breadth and depth of his thinking and the persuasiveness and elegance of his writing. He draws from an easy familiarity with such subjects as history, politics, technology, economics, philosophy, psychology, and business to analyze contemporary issues with a uniquely strategic perspective.”
Of Azurin’s thought-provoking columns, BusinessWorld publisher and veteran journalist Vergel Santos says, “René Azurin is just the sort of inquirer and sense-maker the public needs for it to be redeemed from the confusion and obfuscation engendered these days in the service of the powers that be. It’s a role he plays with consistent grace and conviction. He is able to cut through disingenuousness with his power of deduction and clarity of thought to reveal motives and paint the big, plausible, and often absolutely true picture.”
And PulseAsia founding president and distinguished political science professor Felipe Miranda clearly agrees. He writes, “Dr. René Azurin is a veritable Renaissance man as well as an indomitable Orphic spirit who melds a comprehensive knowledge of Philippine history with a keen sense of what strategically needs to be done — what, indeed, sensibly could be done — to change this country’s largely regrettable history.”
Power and Privilege is available at National Book Store and PowerBooks.
