Men who would be King

We’re day 18 into the 90-day campaign for national positions. The presidentiables’ stories have been supplying us with the seasonal mind bacchanalia: biographical themes of redemption, triumph over tragedy, serving a purpose larger than yourself, the hero’s arc, etc. Against ordinary contenders, maybe one would resonate loudest. But when senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (BBM) is a contender, his candidacy will command the bulk of attention/obsession.

Can there be a story more compelling, polarizing and controversial than that of BBM’s? Since birth, the man has lived his life on the most public of stages. Through no fault or choice of our own, his narrative is wired into our consciousness. Hate him or love him, the reaction is from the gut because we know him. Leni, Isko, Manny, Ping may have greater impacts one way or the other. But none have had longer impacts than the only son of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.

When thinking about the possible “coronation” of a second president Marcos and of the tortuous journey he traversed to get there, one can’t help but contemplate the role destiny plays. His own father’s route to the presidency pondered that same question – in fact, the celebrated Marcos biographical movie of 1965 and its fabled part in the road to Malacañang was entitled “Iginuhit ng Tadhana” (with BBM playing the role of BBM).

Whether a second President Marcos or a first President Robredo, Moreno, Pacquiao or Lacson, thoughts inevitably turn to literary tales to frame our analyses. One is Rudyard Kipling’s The Man who would be King. This parable of a guileless people exploited by British rogues, one of whom they elevated to God King status, is cautionary for both the leader and the led. In the end, when the rogues’ true identities are inadvertently exposed and the peoples’ trust betrayed, there was a poetic call to account.

Just as destiny has a way of penciling in your beginnings, it can write your endings in ways random or unplanned. Not even the best laid plans can change that.

Crusaders and the crusade. However large a part destiny plays, though, merit will still matter. No one can really abide a totally unmeritorious bid. Even the crucial conduct of campaigns can only go so far if the product to be sold is unsellable.

Strategically, the major candidates have been staging visits to vote rich provinces, to bailiwicks, to those “toss-up” areas still in play. But this nod to retail politics and personal engagement is just nostalgia. The style has really been overtaken by the professionalization of the campaigns. The single theme feel of every large public rally appears contrived – it’s as if they’re all set pieces. The pandemic’s protocols make it even less spontaneous.

Best in class. With the 2022 election more an emotional exercise, talk of qualifications has not predominated. There is noise about BBM’s academic history but this has centered on the veracity of his credentials. Vice President Leni is the only lawyer but no one candidate can claim to stand head and shoulders above the rest in this department.

From our earliest days as an independent republic, people would place a premium on smarts. Beginning from World War II, independence in 1946 and so on, it was an embarrassment of riches in the quality of our leaders. Jose P. Laurel was No. 2 in the Bar. Sergio Osmeña also placed 2nd. Manuel Roxas was a No. 1 topnotcher. Elpidio Quirino was 2nd and Carlos Garcia, 7th. In the titanic 1965 duel between Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos, both were No. 1 topnotchers. Even our vice presidents were outstanding. Emmanuel Pelaez was No. 1 and Arturo Tolentino, a No. 2.

The supporting cast. Up until this 2022 presidential election, you could always expect a topnotch lawyer or other professional as a major presidential candidate. Today, for top quality we mine the Senate slates. John Jay in the Federalist papers, before his appointment as the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, referenced senators as men of talents and integrity.

As we see Russia invade/liberate/re-annex Ukraine and anticipate the domino effects on the region’s geopolitical prospects, the disruption and displacement to economies and globalization, states’ fight for self-determination and the inevitable humanitarian crises, we recognize the compelling need for a higher order of statesmen.

Several of our returning senators are known quantities. But two first-timers have been providing a spark. They were, themselves, men who would be king. One was the administration presidential candidate back in 2010 and another led the presidential race for most of the pre-campaign hostilities in 2016.

Mutt and Jeff. The UniTeam boasts of star candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., the youngest secretary of national defense, three-term congressman, father of the Securities Regulation Code, youngest CEO of a listed company and licensed pilot. Gibo is a No. 1 Bar topnotcher from UP Law with LLM from Harvard. He is also known as the better half of Cong. Monica “Nikki” Prieto Teodoro.

Partido Reporma’s Jejomar “Jojo” Binay is the emeritus in servant governance. Vice President Binay is one of history’s best ever Local Chief Executives who stood tallest in elevating his former municipality into the giant, pre-eminent business district it has become; in mentorship of needy LGUs and in showcasing principled leadership when fear paralyzed us during and after the martial law period. Also a UP Law graduate, he generously shared this culture of excellence with the legal academe as Foundation Dean of the University of Makati Law School in 2017.

This is not to say that lawyers have the inside track to being useful in the Senate. It’s just that knowledge of the law and surviving the crucible of the country’s toughest licensure exam has seemingly crystallized into an unspoken expectation that they would be better lawmakers. But it’s never a guarantee. Several of the ablest senators do not have law degrees. And some of the lawyer senators could really do better.