Thursday, November 30, 2006 Viray: Concede By Atlee T. Viray In and Out of Court
WE ARE called Little Brown Americans. Whether the description is a compliment or an insult, the fact remains that our umbilical cord is tied with the United States. We “inherited” many things from them especially the freedom of choice - done thru elections.
“Concede” is an important word in the English dictionary. It means to acknowledge or admit grudgingly. This is an important part of the electoral process of the Whites.
In recent years, Al Gore conceded to George Bush despite the close count. Gore was even the winner in the popular vote but he lost in the electoral college. The “swing vote” in Florida was questionable because George’s brod, Jeb is the governor there. But Al Gore realized that if he protested, there will be leadership crisis that is bad for his country so he conceded.
The loss of the six Republican senators shifted the balance in favor of the Democrats. Sen. George Allen of Virginia could have stalled the loss of his party control of the US Senate by questioning the result. He stressed: “I don’t want a protracted litigation. I vow to the will of the electorate. I concede to the new Senator, Jim Webb.”
Let us review our electoral contests by way of a contrast.
The feisty lady, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed a protest against the election of President Ramos in 1990. She spent a sizeable amount of money and waited in vain for a verdict that never came. Until now, she never conceded defeat to Fidel V. Ramos.
Whether rightly or wrongly, Da King FPJ filed an electoral protest against the incumbent President, Gloria M. Arroyo. Death intervened, so the protest was rendered moot. The heirs and supporters of FPJ would never concede to Ate Glo. Loren Legarda’s candidacy to become the Vice President of the Philippines still hangs in the balance. She questions her peer, Noli de Castro’s election and has not forgiven him because of their rivalry. In short, she has not conceded even if she is poised to run for senator anew.
In our province, our politicians are no different.
Madam Cielo Macapagal for all her gentleness never conceded defeat to the late Bren Z. Guiao when they both offered their services to the Capitol and this province.
The refusal to acknowledge defeat in elections is very Filipino. We are “pikon” by nature. We cannot accept defeat graciously. I was watching a friendly boxing match between the brother of Cesar Montano and another actor whose name I no longer remember. Montano’s brother was knocked out in Cesar’s presence. Instead of congratulating the winner, Cesar menacingly chased the winner out of the ring. Cesar’s attitude is a reflection of all of us. We feel that a loss demeans us which should not be in elections, much more in sports.
The proponents of the Impeachment against Madam Gloria have not conceded. The proponents of Cha-Cha thru people?s initiative refuse to concede.
There should be a time to concede defeat in the name of reconciliation. Concede is not a dirty word. It is a unifying factor towards healing the wounds of a political or legal debacle. A person who concedes is honorable because he views the larger picture - the welfare of the people, not just himself and his feelings.
