The difference between Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Alan Jay Velasco

Aside from the fact that the Sultan of Taguig is a blue-blooded Atenean eagle, and that the Lord of Marinduque is a Thomasian golden and growling lion, there is a wide gap of distinction between the two speakers of the House: Alan Peter loves the limelight and is a very articulate debater and public speaker. Lord Alan Jay has no appetite for theatrics, and is a low-key, smiling, demure, and soft-spoken and silent achiever.

If we compare them to Cebuano leaders, Alan Peter is like Mike Rama who might have been conceived and born in a rostrum and whose first toy might have been a mike or a loudspeaker. This is not negative but a term of endearment because the vice mayor is really a natural performer, speaker, and debater. When he was my student, I often asked him to recite the whole time and he could lecture better than me. We can compare Lord Alan Jay to Vice Governor Jun-Jun Davide, who does not seek out any TV appearance or radio interview. He would rather do his work away from the limelight. That is why these people like Lord Alan and Davide are rare species in the animal kingdom of politicians, especially in today's age of social media.

Alan Peter, just like our very own dear Mike Rama, can discuss any topic under the sun, from archaeology to zoology, from America to Zimbabwe. He has an opinion on any issue, whether it is about the weather or about such profundity as biblical teachings and principles. He can say something about Islam, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism. His father, the late Rene Luna Cayetano was a prolific speaker himself. He would give legal advice on the air and extemporaneously. His mother Sandra Schramm, an American-German teacher, used to own the Ann Arbor Montessori School where my eldest son, now a lawyer, used to study in his pre-school and kindergarten. I met her when my son figured in an accident and she brought the child to the hospital and apologized to us. She was also very articulate and personable.

Lord Alan was molded in a different atmosphere. His father was more into reading the cases he was to decide as magistrate of the highest court of the land. As Lord Alan's behavior model, Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., now incumbent governor of Marinduque, is more professorial, analytical, and cerebral. I always read his decisions, especially those where he affirmed and sometimes, reversed my rulings as former DOLE undersecretary and voluntary arbitrator. Lord Alan thus has developed a different kind of lawyering, that of analysis and thinking rather than talking and discussing things. He is also good in the leadership task of consensus-building and talking to small groups and strategizing on what to do and how to do it. In other words, we can consider Lord Alan as a behind-the-scene achiever and doer.

In the language of his number one ally and supporter, the financial wizard from Bicolandia, Joey Salceda of Albay, Lord Alan jay Velasco is a workhorse, not a show horse. He has very little appetite for political theatrics and would rather perform his functions silently and without fanfare. His advantage, according to Salceda, is that he is young, energetic and is exuding what he calls dynamic curiosity. He wants to know more and learn more. He listens to his allies and takes their nuggets of wisdom to heart. Not like Alan Peter who seems to know all things and is inclined to give orders based on strategies and tactics that he himself formulated and developed. To my mind, Alan Peter is really suited to become a Cabinet secretary or a vice president, if not president someday. Lord Alan is better suited as a speaker, senate president or even chief justice of the Supreme Court.

If I were a company president, I would love to be in my leadership and top management team both Alan Peter, the Sultan of Taguig and Lord Alan Jay, the Lord of Marinduque. Lord to do all planning, strategizing and backdoor diplomacy, and Alan Peter to explain policies, and to meet people and execute management decisions down the line. Their two distinct personalities can complement and supplement each other, instead of oppose and collide with each other.