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Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Roperos: ‘Base’ politicking
By Godofredo M. Roperos
ONE of the most odious and perhaps most debilitating practice of our politicians is their childish pursuit of petty political activities that do more harm than good to our nation. I cannot sometimes fathom the turn of mind of some of our elective officials, whether at the local or national level. Many are obviously trying to behave like true political leaders, but instead they merely succeed in looking like naive amateur players trying hard to look mature and professional.
Most, if not all, of the country’s electorate know only too well what to expect from winning politicians after every elections, whether at the national or the local level. Political vindictiveness among the victors is nothing new to our people. In their consciousness, it is something to be expected. Voters who openly opposed the victor are sure to have their comeuppance once the triumphant group is settled in their new roles as the ascendant new or reelected political power in the town, district, or province.
I am not quite well acquainted with the circumstances surrounding the recent tirade the Cebu governor had made against the vice mayor of a northern town who reportedly inquired about why the Court of First Instance cooperative has been allowed to occupy an old Provincial Capitol building.
Was the question asked with or without malice aforethought? In whatever motive it was asked, the fact is, as reported in the local papers, it sounded as if the vice mayor was trying to question a fact that has been long accepted at the Capitol.
In a sense, it came out even if it was unintended, as one with an unsettling political barb subtly appended to it. If that is the way it was, there is no doubt that the inquiry would nettle a seasoned political sensibility such as the governor’s. After having been in politics for well over two decades, the governor as an elder warrior grown wise in the ways of political combat, could not let pass such needling and subtle jabs from younger political foes.
After all, he has mastered the art of political play, be it a clean or dirty one.
Which is probably why Governor Garcia was riled when the vice mayor of a northern town brought up the question. For who would not, indeed, after reportedly having earlier granted the same official a similar privilege as the CFI coop—a space in the capitol for the offices of the province’s league of vice mayors? In the first place, it was the late governor Osmundo Rama who had extended the privilege to the coop, then headed by his CFI judge wife, now retired. To be imputed with something one did not do, is quite irritating.
On the other hand, if the question was asked rather innocently as a matter of information, without an intended malice, then the governor really was out of turn getting his hackles raised. However, at a time like now, the winds of politics is getting stronger everyday as the May 2004 elections draws ever so near. It is then difficult to blame anyone, much less Governor Pabling Garcia, for becoming too sensitive about any issue that would be brought up as a political battering ram against his political fortress.
What we have now, is exactly the kind of environment that generates “base” politicking. It generally breeds vicious political maneuvers in order to soften foundations of potential opponents’ stronghold. This is the practice that should be frowned at, since it is not only socially debilitating, but also divisive. It breaks up not only close friendship, but also family ties. But this has become a distinct feature of our nation’s political tradition, although something that we really could do without.
I am not sure whether our new breed of politicians would generate a new norm of political values and practices. I have been hoping they would come up with a kind of politicking that is more constructive and developmental rather than destructive and obstructive. The kind that builds on the work and accomplishments of predecessors instead of destroying or making “white elephants” of projects that have been built with people’s taxes, simply because they have been initiated or started by opponents in the previous administration.
This situation has always been the rule rather than the exception in our country’s political tradition. It is a sad practice, and gravely wasteful of our scarce resources. But I daresay that such conditions are dire results of “base” politicking that generates political vindictiveness. To the victor may belong the spoils, as the popular saying goes that begun in the days of Andrew Jackson in the American South. But the spoils now, ironically, include the citizenry’s common welfare.
(July 1, 2003 issue)
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