EDITORIAL - Statesman, nationalist

In a land where the field of presidential aspirants includes an actor, a former cop and possibly a former broadcaster, there is a gaping void created by the passing yesterday of Blas Ople. He had his share of detractors, particularly from the Left who opposed his pro-American stance. But few would argue that Ople was a statesman – a vanishing breed among national leaders.

The anecdotes about Ople are well known – stories of his inebriated moments as a journalist, how he took perverse pride in being a college dropout, how he refused to give up his chain-smoking even after coronary bypass surgery and repeated warnings from his doctors. Most of the anecdotes are told with affection by those who were with him in his journey from journalism to advocacy of workers’ rights, then to lawmaking and the world of diplomacy.

Despite criticism from the Left, Ople developed a reputation as a nationalist. He survived serving in the Marcos dictatorship without being tainted by corruption and the other excesses of that regime. When the dictatorship collapsed and a democratic administration took over, Ople was one of a handful of opposition members appointed by then President Corazon Aquino to the commission that drafted a new Constitution.

Ople took a lot of flak when he steered the Senate toward approval of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which eventually led to the revival of large-scale joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States. He was also criticized for his vocal support for the US-led war in Iraq. Ople, however, did not wither under criticism, standing firm especially when he believed it was in the interest of the nation.

Ople was a known workaholic, and he probably would not have wanted any other way of passing: on the job as secretary of foreign affairs. He was on an official trip, on his way to meet up with President Arroyo in Bahrain, when he suffered a heart attack. His plane was diverted to Taiwan where he died. In our season of national despair, a Filipino like Blas Ople is sorely missed.