politics by anecdotes

1. It’s political season in the Philippines. Anecdotes would, to my mind, offer a clear picture of the political landscape here. So let me share some, in the hope that we can have lucid interval in the otherwise insane political realities.

2. The Philippine Congress is bicameral in nature, closely following the Amercan model, owing greatly to the historical fact that Phippines was once an American colony. The Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives were once populated with great statemen and learned men of letters and law. We had the eminent Claro M. Recto, Jose Diokno, Wigberto Tanada, Jovito Salonga, Arturo Tolentino, and others. We used to addresse them as “Honorables” , befitting of their stature. Lately however, comedians, action stars, [and God forbid, a boxer who has not even finished secondary education wants to run also] are now in the Congress. There was this congressman who said in his speech, “I will cementated the road from Cagayan de Oro to Bulua, and vice-versa”. Now tell me, should we call them “Honorables”? . I may have to take bonamine tablet, an anti-vomitting prescription, before I can pronounce the word.

3. My former law office partner was once a Vice-governor of the province, and went on to become a Congressman. I was privy to the inner sanctum of political schemes. In 1998, he ran and won the lone congressional seat of our province. The hardest obstacle in his election was the mayor who was also a gambling lord, and therefore had guns , goons, and gold. No lawyer would dare to accept the assignment during election time in his municipality, but being the rebel and adventurous in the group, I obliged. In his municipality, there were precincts that had zero vote for my partner even if the latter’s relative would swear to have voted. We filed criminal cases against this mayor, and all the lawyers in our law firm were in constant threat. We had to spend for bodyguards for two years. But during the 2004 elections, that mayor and my partner ran under the same political ticket. In politics, strange bedfellows can sleep together.

4. Philippine election is a year-round affair. If you are a congressman, you have to help all the elections in the province, save perhaps for the positions in the churches. There was this election for the Samahang Kabataan, a youth oganization that has a seat in the local legislative council. There are 14 municipalities in our province. It was a 7-7 for the opposing political parties. To break the tie, we had to get the vote of one Samahang Kabataan president. We had an associate in our law office who just passed the bar exam and was still single. We requested him to win the heart of a lady president. Before the election, our associate and the lady were sweethearts. We were assured of the majority vote.

5. Money can buy votes, so do cut-out newspapers. In one of the political conventions, a member who was seeking nomination, was into vote-buying. He cut newspapers to the size and shape of paper bills; on top and bottom of these cut – out papers, he placed real money, inserted these into envelops, and distributed these to the delegates before the votation. As the distribution was made in the convention hall, those who received the enveloped did not verify the content. [There is still honor among the dishonorables] That scheming member won, and the delegates who were hoodwinked, did not complain. They cannot flaunt their greed and ignorance by complaining.

6. I know of a judge who swears he will never run for public office again. Right after he passed the bar exam, he wanted to help his small town. He ran for a seat in the local legislative council. Brimming with idealism and confidence, he predicted his eventual victory. You see, the highest educational qualification among his opponents was a third year college. In that field, no way could a lawyer lose, so he thought. After the polling centers were closed, he went home to take a rest. He asked his mother whether she had voted. The mother, who was already near senility, said yes. Then the son asked whether she voted for him. The mother took from her pocket a piece of paper, and let the son read the contents. The names of the candidates were written but his name was not one of them. He asked his mother, “What are these names mom?” She replied, “Those are names of the candidates I voted because they gave me money.” He lost in that election.

7. I know the family of our vice-mayor in Cagayan de Oro City. The vice-mayor was a school mate in the college of law here. So do her brothers and sisters. Her father was once a mayor in the city. They had a band. All members of the family were good singers and can play any musical instrument. They were that close. The father, who is a lawyer, raised a good family: three lawyers, one doctor, an accountant, and the rest were all successful in their field. The father wanted to run as vice-mayor so as her daughter. Both belong to different political parties. They had a pact that no one would run. But the daughter did run. Feeling betrayed, the father attacked her daughter in the radio programs. And the daughter just answered: “He was a good for nothing father anyway.” When the mother was dying, they even filed cases as to who among the two should have a custody.

Man’s Infinite Hunger

 

The tragedy of human existence is its finiteness amidst the capacity of man’s infinite hunger: hunger for fortune, fame, and power.

Clint Eastwood, in one movie said: “The man in the gutter works so he earns money. He needs money to buy him food. He needs food to give him energy. He needs energy to enable him to work.” He sees man’s Sisyphean damnation on earth.

Yet man, though has his feet deeply planted on the ground, is capable of weaving dreams, of wanting to go beyond the Sisyphean cycle, of perpetually wanting more for what he already has. Though the myth of Sisyphus is the favourite among existentialist philosophers, yet its relevance on human experience only tells of an open ended-story. Sisyphus is not a summation of human existence. That is why it remains in its proper genre, a myth.

There was this child who was raised in the most of the rural setting. His friends never exceeded twenty two because that was the only number of kids in his small place. There was no electricity. The public school was made of pre-fabricated materials. He was always on top of his class because they are only few and the teachers were all his aunts or uncles. The Christmas and New Year’s eve always consisted of baked rice and if the pocket would allow, pancit canton.

One day, the kid went to the city with his father. He was awed with the glare of the neon lights, the many dishes in the restaurant, and the huge university campus he was smitten with.

In his heart, he resolved to be in the big city, to enjoy the luxuries the place brings, and be schooled in that huge campus. He kept his dream in his heart and slowly, he realized the dreams of his young mind. But having realized what he once dreamed of before, he now fancies of things far greater than what he has achieved. He weaves another dream, and once the new dream is realized, he weaves of still another, and another, in perpetuity.

That has been my story which can be yours too. But that is the story of humanity too, of man’s insatiable desire to go beyond what he already has, of man’s quest for far more greater things – this is man’s infinite hunger.

Man’s infinite hunger is both a boon and a bane of human existence. Can you imagine if Adam and Eve were contented of the paradise God has gifted them? Everyday would have been for them a moment of total bliss – no pain, no disease, and no hunger. But is that truly human existence? That life could have been the life of angels. How could they possibly enjoy and appreciate happiness without the experience of sadness? Happiness, without the danger of pain, is a conundrum. Is not what makes us happy is because of the triumph over pain and sadness?

Man has become what he is now because of his infinite hunger. Humanity has evolved in rapid pace because it is his nature to go beyond his present situation or status. A person who does not dream ceases to live. We have scaled Mt. Everest, dived into the deepest trenches, tinkered with the human gnome, explored the moon and other planets because that is part of the definition of man – always aspiring, always dreaming.

But his infinite hunger too is our boon, the boulder that the Sisyphus in us has to carry forever. Look around you. Have you heard of a billionaire who, not satisfied, still envies his friend who is richer and more famous than him? The next day, he is headline news. He is involved in corruption. You may ask: Why should a billionaire still have to commit crimes to amass wealth? Is it not that even in his lifetime and those of his grand children, the money he has amassed is already enough for luxurious lifestyle?

How many dictators, having tasted power, wanting to reign with absolute powers? Take Burma. The military junta has been ruling the Burmese people for 45 years now. In order to reign, the junta has to quell the opposition, imprison the leaders, gas the people, and lately, kill the monks. And they do these with seeming impunity. The junta is already ruling, but why not allow dissent? For absolute reign? Observe your local politicians. He started to get elected alone. Then, with his wife, later with his children, and still with his grandchildren. Not content with political power, he slowly intrudes into the businesses, and in order to strangle the competition, he wields his political clout. Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippine dictator for 20 years, even tried to intrude into literature by supplanting the legend of Malakas and Maganda( The Strong and the Beautiful) with his and his wife’s story. If he were still alive today, what could have prevented him from being the main actor in the Genesis story?

In fact, I may ask, why do I blog? Is not that knowing the finiteness of my existence, I still harbor in my heart the desire for eternal, that even if I should die, I still leave imprints of my existence? Even in the throes of death, man still quests for something greater than the present, something beyond him – the true mark of his infinity.