Bona fide, how Gov Gwen can demonstrate it

Among the earliest teachings a student encounters in Law school is couched in the Latin term “bona fide” which, for our common understanding, translates to "in good faith" or "genuine." Bona fide signifies honesty, sincerity, and the absence of deceit or pretense. The freshman student who begins to grapple with the intricacies of the law finds a seemingly encompassing provision on “bona fide” in the Civil Code on human relations which says “every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith.” To be sure, good faith is mentioned in several parts of the Civil Code.

Bona fide morally and ethically refers to acting with honest intentions, without deceit, and in a manner that is fair and reasonable. As a concept, it, thus, permeates our entire society. More so, in government service.

I can even connect it to an executive function of the president. President Carlos Polistico Garcia, with 3 million votes, lost his re-election bid to his challenger, then Vice President Diosdado Pangan Macapagal, who got 3.5 million votes. The difference was about half a million. In the last days of his sitting in Malacañang, outgoing President Garcia appointed Dominador Aytona as governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines. When President Macapagal assumed the presidency, he recalled the appointment of Aytona and appointed Andres Castillo as new central bank governor. There were reports that Castillo accompanied by heavily-armed PC rangers prevented Aytona in the discharge of his duties as CB governor. Aggrieved, Aytona went to court.

Let us skip the court lingo in Aytona v. Castillo. Rather we attempt to apply the concept of bona fide here. Garcia was ending his term upon the resounding will of the vast majority of his countrymen. The people elected a new president. Garcia’s loss in the election meant that he lost the trust and confidence of his people to administer the government. True, he still had remaining days in office as the legal president but Garcia had no more moral and ethical responsibility to rule further the country. His midnight appointment of Aytona was no longer bona fide. It was NOT an act of good faith for him to deny the incoming president the right to choose his Central Bank governor. Garcia was not honest, reasonable and fair in using his power because in the next few days Macapagal, the newly-elected president, was to lead the government.

The scene in 1961 repeated in Cebu recently. Governor Gwen’s leadership in this province was theoretically terminated by the Cebuanos. The Cebuanos chose a new face in politics as their governor in an overwhelming mandate. Governor-elect Pamela Baricuatro, who obtained 1.2 million votes, trounced outgoing Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who got only 700,000. The difference like the Garcia-Macapagal tiff is in unprecedented numbers. The gubernatorial contest was not close by any means.

As a literary composition, the following sentences may be unaesthetic. But, I can copy-paste my words above for purposes of emphasis. Gwen Garcia’s loss in the election meant that she lost the trust and confidence of her people to administer the government. True, she still had remaining days in office as the legal governor but Garcia had no more moral and ethical responsibility to rule further the province. Her submission of a ?1.2 billion supplemental budget was no longer bona fide. It was NOT an act of good faith for her to deny the incoming governor the right to determine how the money belonging to the province be spent. Gwen Garcia was not honest, reasonable, and fair in using her power because in the next few days Baricuatro, the newly-elected governor, is to lead the government.

To me, Gov Gwendolyn Garcia can still show bona fide if she withdraws her supplemental budget from tomorrow’s sanggunian session!