‘Moving forward’

Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon bore the brunt of ire of President Rodrigo Duterte during his penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) at joint opening sessions of the 18th Congress last Monday. From the start of the SONA and towards its end, President Duterte lashed at Drilon for allegedly siding with the oligarchs like the Lopezes over the ABS-CBN issue.

In his SONA, the President presented his own narrative on how the oligarchy exists in the Philippines started during the Spanish rule. This was after Drilon cited the passage into law of the anti-dynasty bill – that Congresses of the past tried but failed to pass into law – could be the best way to break the back of oligarchy in the Philippines. It was obviously a dig at President Duterte who bragged in his pep talks with the troopers in Sulu last July 13 that he was able to bring down oligarchs in our country without having to declare martial law.

The Chief Executive rued while the government has been busy to stop the spread of COVID-19, “opportunists” take advantage of the situation and pointedly accused Drilon.

“In an interview, he (Drilon) arrogantly mentioned among others that oligarchs need not be rich. Then he linked the anti-dynasty system with oligarchy and the topic was my daughter and son. This happened after the committee on franchise voted 70-11 to deny the grant of franchise to ABS-CBN. Obviously, he was defending the Lopezes that they are not oligarchs,” the President asserted.

When the President mentioned this, it struck me right away he was reacting to what Drilon spoke about during his guesting in my Zoom Webinar for the Kapihan sa Manila Bay last July 15.

But in fairness to Drilon, he never mentioned the children of the President.

Reprinted below is the exact transcript of my Kapihan sa Manila Bay interview:

“Me: After 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, oligarchs allegedly returned to power during the administration of the late president Cory Aquino.

Drilon – Let’s have a correct understanding of what oligarchy is all about. What is the system of oligarchy?

Oligarchy is a form of a power structure in which power rests with a small number of people which seek to use their power to seek personal gain or benefit their group, their business interest. That’s how an oligarch is defined.

So that’s just to emphasize, it doesn’t mean that you cannot equate rich and oligarch. In other words, it doesn’t necessarily mean if you are rich, you are an oligarch. Oligarch is one who would influence the decisions of government or using their political power, or using the rich in order that the policy they want which usually to protect their interest will be pursued. So there is monopolistic tactic to dominate an industry that makes possible oligarchy.

Now the policy to remove or to not allow oligarchy in the country is a policy that we support. Indeed, we should not have an oligarch because indeed it’s not good. The question is we must review the whole structure because the whole structure may in fact make oligarchy easy to achieve.

For example, the anti-dynasty concept. You know it is, as I said, a small group of people who would possess sufficient political power to influence government policy is when you have oligarchy that should be dismantled.

So you know, the lack of anti-dynasty system or provision in our system would allow oligarchy to continue.

So what I am saying is that I am willing to sit down with the Duterte administration examine the laws that we have and find out which laws should be amended or which laws should be enacted in order that we can remove and dismantle the structure that makes possible oligarchy. We have some laws like now, like the Anti Competition Law that was enacted to prevent oligarchy. The Revised Penal Code on monopolistic in restraint of trade is punished because again that enhances the system of oligarchy.

What I am saying in my own way, let’s make it clear. Oligarchy is bad for our government as a policy to pursue. Yes, we should adopt policies to prevent or dismantle these oligarchies. But let’s make sure that the oligarchs are not substituted by cronies. You know you may remove oligarch and replaced by another (oligarch).

So again, I would repeat I am willing to sit down with whoever the administration designates to work, to examine various laws especially in governance in order that the opportunity for oligarchy will be removed or at least minimized. And one of those is the lack of anti-dynasty law.

Me: But that’s a bad example because anti-dynasty bill will never get passed under present Congress.

Drilon – Yes, that is why. But you know, with the popularity rating of the President, he has the capacity to push that in Congress. Yes, proven his mettle in so far as he is concerned.

Me: But he has sons and daughter, it’s a lost cause.

Drilon – But when you want to remove oligarchy as a power structure, then you should rise above all of these. Because as I said oligarchy is when it uses monopolistic tactics to dominate an industry and it possesses sufficient political power in order to push or promote their own interest.

Me: Your favorite expression: “Been there, done that.” You broke the back of PLDT telecom monopoly during former President Fidel V. Ramos term when you were then Secretary of Justice. That’s the best example.

Drilon – Yes, telecom. That’s an example of structural reform which allowed competition in the telecom industry. That is when you break the monopoly which is a way of protecting the society against oligarchy. So it is not wealthy that you are an oligarch. You are an oligarch is when you use your economic power to monopolize industry and you use that in order to promote through the political system your own interest.

Me: It’s frightening indeed because narco-pols, with all their money can become oligarchs.

Drilon – Yes. That’s a vain of many societies in Russia where you can keep on hearing about oligarchies when favored Russian cronies would control vital industries particularly oil. So what is important is we must be able to make it difficult for oligarchy to prevail in our system of governance.”

Methinks, both Drilon and President Duterte should try to follow The Philippine Star 34th anniversary theme “The Art of Moving Forward.”