The Ides of May

The Roman Calendar’s Ides (midpoint of the month between Nones and Kalends) falls on the 15th for the month of March. It is the same for the month of May. It has become synonymous with one of the most ignoble political murders in history, the assassination of Rome’s Dictator-Consul and Pontifex Maximus, Julius Caesar.

We remember the dastardly way the great man was executed. There are two facts, however, we tend to forget. First, those responsible were the most educated of men: they were Senators and Magistrates. The other is that, in the end, Caesar was avenged and his perpetrators repaid in kind.

Found wanting. What started out as a trial of a Chief Justice has become a test of an entire Court. The trial’s outcome came early. On the other hand, the test results we will not immediately know. We harbor no illusions that this decision will be a spark that ignites a conflagration. After all, the greater number are not invested enough in the career fortunes of one unelected Ma. Lourdes P.A. Sereno to join movements. But the greater number are not that desensitized to have lost the capacity to be offended when they are well aware of how power could have been used.

Developments like these reawaken our sleeping beliefs in our institutions’ worth. Some see this decision as the tear in the lining that may, one day, unravel the fabric. To Solicitor General Jose Calida, it is the epitome of Judicial Independence. But the measure of a Court’s judicial independence is ultimately determined by us. Time will tell, sir, if we concur.

Assemble! The vote is one of the closest in recent history. The 8-6 margin exposes the deep division among the Justices. It was, by no means, a confidence vote in the Chief by the “Steadfast Six.” Whatever the motivation, theirs is a heroic stand which honors their profession and their institution. The weight of the pressures put to bear both from without and within must have been immense. In this, the most important vote of their careers, let it not be said that no one from the Court answered the call for heroes.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque begs the question in calling for respect for the decision as the Court has spoken. But, as Justice Robert Jackson quipped: “we are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.” There you go.

Tabula Rasa. Anyone who’s had the privilege to succeed a Chief Executive Officer inherits the privilege/dilemma of (a) working with people in place and discovering a chemistry or (b) to implement a platoon substitution and build his/her own team. Reassuring institutional memory of inherited staff will always entice the leader. Personally, I think it best to import your own people and with them to sink or swim. Then your victories need not have a hundred fathers.

This leadership prerogative usually arises in the context of transitions between administrations, a subset of the spoils politics in the aftermath of divisive interparty battles. Yet we see it in the intraparty turnover of the Department of Justice from Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to Secretary Menardo Guevara.

Team Guevara. In a decisive fashion, SOJ Guevara ordered the tender of unconditional resignations from incumbent Justice Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries. We didn’t see this en masse eviction in the unceremonial relief of Sec. Ismael Sueno of the DILG nor in the vague resignation of Sec. Rodolfo Salalima of DICT. The cases of the Secretaries who failed at the Commission on Appointments are different. I wonder how incoming Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, an inspired choice, will approach this challenge.

Usecs and Asecs are presidential appointees. As such, they are ultimately answerable to the Man himself. The SOJ could have chosen to work with them and experience the fulfillment of succeeding even with strangers at your side, strangers who are also President’s men. Awarding Sec. Guevara carte blanche should not be viewed as a reflection, though, on Team Aguirre but rather as how important the Department of Justice is to Malacanang. It does do the grunt work in support of the centerpiece program against illegal drugs.

The next frontier. The ongoing Boracay closure and rehabilitation gives us two important insights into Philippine governance for sustainable development under the current administration. The first is that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte cares about the environment and the sustainability of our precious natural resources. In Boracay’s case, he championed the environment and demanded cleanup – despite the huge negative impact to the local economy and all tourism stakeholders.

The second insight is that when the President hammers his fist on an important issue, corrective actions follow. Numerous establishments are in violation of the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, as reported by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. We do believe that DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu’s is an ideal Hercules to lead us through this crisis, given his no-nonsense approach and military background. We have faith that he, with the help of all stakeholder groups, succeeds in cleaning up the “augean stables” that is Boracay island and setting it up for a more sustainable future.

What next? Many other environmental problems need continuous pounding from the President’s hammer fist: climate change, water scarcity, solid waste and air pollution, among others. It looks like the next big showdown will focus on the one non-renewable resource that we all need to survive: water.

Dr. Ernesto Ordoñez is Secretary General of the Steering Committee for the National Water Roadmap and Summit. Once again, an inspired choice for the job, with his years of experience in government and the private sector. This government-led initiative to address the nation’s water crisis was catapulted into action by President Duterte himself, a result of a commitment he made to the Agri-Fisheries Alliance back in April 2016. We hope he follows it up with unrelenting action, Duterte-style.