When you’re new to national election campaigns, there are a lot of things you need to get used to: The long hours, the long distances to travel, the people who don’t speak your mother tongue, and even the food that you may not be familiar with.
That is the easier part. And it doesn’t take very long for the more important things to be touched. Your integrity is questioned. Your honesty is put to the test. Your commitment to the nation’s well-being becomes an issue many times, over and above personal, parochial concerns.
Watching Rep. Leni Robredo of Camarines Sur go about campaigning for votes to get her to the lofty position of Vice President, I see how she has to deal with all of the above. How tiring, how frustrating, the journey she has chosen to travel. And to think that she had been thrust into the limelight beyond her wildest dreams: first because of the loss of her husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, and now as a Vice Presidential candidate battling it out with heavyweights like Senators Chiz Escudero and Bongbong Marcos.
Faced with such formidable opponents, her campaign has to draw from her main strengths – her advocacies for greater empowerment of women, assisting and encouraging the marginalized in the hope of getting them to engage government, and her clean, down-to-earth image.
Seeing her waiting for public transportation (while all her colleagues are known to travel in big, luxurious cars) or buying food and snack items in a convenience store for her and her three daughters to eat as they commute to her home in Bicol just like any ordinary Filipino, has resulted in people giving their hearts to her. These have made her survey numbers rise from the measly 1 percent to 4 percent to roughly 20 percent now.
It was disturbing to some, including myself, therefore, to hear about her sitting right beside Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, a supposed jueteng queen. One remembers how the Liberal Party team had, in the past, been attacking Pineda precisely on this issue. So why do we see both Mar Roxas and squeaky-clean lawyer Leni Robredo on the same stage with Pineda, shaking her hand and being friendly with her?
Pineda had endorsed both Roxas and Robredo on that occasion. And rather amusingly, it was Pineda’s own political opponent, Catholic priest and former Governor Ed Panlilio who explained this development quite well. The goal is to win, and an endorsement by Pineda will surely help the chances of the LP candidates. Also, it could be considered as being utterly arrogant to tell an incumbent, “No. Sorry. We don’t need your endorsement. We’re good on our own.”
You may recall the saying, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.” Is this a case of compromise for the sake of political expediency? That need not be the case. At the very least, Robredo is entitled to the benefit of the doubt.
For starters, Robredo remains opposed to jueteng and all forms of illegal gambling. Even Ed Panlilio said so. And if the local official is indeed involved in jueteng, things can get pretty interesting if Roxas and Robredo win.
There is a much more important aspect to all of this, however. Robredo has shown a remarkable openness to reach out even to those whom she may not completely agree with. She had earlier explained that on certain issues, she does disagree with Roxas. But she continues to work with him because she sincerely believes that among all the candidates for president, it is Roxas who can best lead the country. That is also because she focuses more on the positive aspects of people that she has to work with. Mindless criticism will not produce positive result and unceasing vitriol against political opponents only create more division and less cooperation.
Regardless of beliefs and personal orientations, we need to live together and work together. Even a decidedly anti-gay Manny Pacquiao will have to admit this.
This is something that Robredo can accomplish because of her willingness to reach out and her openness to work with anyone who can help this nation. She is willing to cooperate with everybody for the greater good, without compromising on issues. Jueteng will be dealt with; the issue of justice for Martial Law victims will be dealt with.
This is what statesmanship is all about. Right now, there is a need for a Vice President who can articulate and offer doable suggestions that can help solve the problems of our people. We need leaders who can address issues head on without alienating others who may be able to help, though they may hold different beliefs.
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Local politics is quite interesting, especially if candidates gunning for public positions are your friends or foes who you know have that insatiable ambition to rule cities or towns like their fiefdom. To say that the challenges for lawmaker Majul Gandamra, who is making a bid for mayor of Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, are therefore big is an understatement. He aims to unseat dynasty politics, maintain peace and order, and make the city’s dirty streets clean.
Says the lawyer, a graduate of Cagayan de Oro City Xavier University’s College of Law: “Someone has to stand up, and put an end to the cycle of violence. We have witnessed rampant killings of innocent individuals and hold-ups in broad daylight. The sale of illegal drugs is still widespread. The drug pushers are either not caught or unpunished. Crimes are prevalent. People don’t feel safe anymore in their neighborhood or business. The solution is to apply the full force of the law without any fear or favor.”
Handpicked by Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov.Mujiv Hataman, Gandamra is assemblyman of the first district of Lanao Del Sur Plenary. He was vigilant in passing laws supporting the peace agreement between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and worked on bills for education, infrastructure and energy.
As chairman of the finance committee, he and his colleague created laws in the handling of local funds and income generation in ARMM. The committee also ensured that funds were properly allocated and spent wisely.
Asked what he likes about his job, Gandamra finds fulfilment in serving his constituents. “Although we see the problems and make the laws, the problem is the implementation. You make laws to support the women, senior citizens, and the youth, but there are not enough funds to execute them. It gets very frustrating.”
The slow process and bureaucracy prompted him to vie for an executive position as mayor. “We can discuss with the council, and make ordinances and resolutions that can be implemented immediately,” he says.
Gandamra sees the need for renewal in Marawi by having a new municipal government that is free from nepotism and being under the same ruling family.
“Others should be given a chance to serve. Politics isn’t a family enterprise,” he says. He does not deny his descending from a family of politicians himself. But they were in power a long time ago. His maternal grandfather is Sheik Cosain Ali Usman, provincial governor of the defunct Lanao province from 1954 to 1955. His paternal grandfather, Sultan Corobong Comadug, was Marawi vice mayor from 1954 to 1957.
Touted as one of ARMM’s reform-oriented legislators, he cites determination as one of his qualities. “Being a lawyer, I respect the rule of law. There shouldn’t be any double standards in applying the law. No friend or relative is above the law. The rule of law is for everybody. There should be fairness and equal treatment for all.”
He vows to work with barangay leaders, and convince constituents that cleanliness is orderliness. Once they pick up broomsticks and sweep their yards, Marawi will be a beautiful, clean city.
My email: dominitorrevillas@gmail.com