THE MOUNTAINEER

Treason like no other
EDISON L. BADDAL

BONTOC, Mountain Province – The unceremonious manner by which Joe de Venecia was eased out as house speaker a few days came as no surprise to many political pundits. But his loyal supporters from the ranks of Lakas stalwarts were aghast at the sudden turn of events.

The swiftness by which JDV lost his post impelled some quarters to surmise that a mighty, unseen hand may have engineered the whole thing. As the ZTE broadband deal was the only viable reason for the former speaker to have strained his relations with his benefactors, it is strongly speculated as the main cause of his downfall.

It can be recalled that his son and namesake, JDV Jr,, squealed to the media the vicious involvement of high-ranking government officials in the said deal last year. His son’s imprudent action certainly did not sit well with those dragged in the controversy and not taking it sitting down, put JDV on fire. Hence, he was among the unwitting victims of the unpleasant ramifications of the deal though he has no actual participation in it. Essentially, the loss of the speakership is a collateral damage of JDV’ son’s bombshell.

From all indications, a powerful cabal could have masterminded the former speaker’s ouster. While some members of the clique may have originated from the house itself, an outsider with intricate network of political connections is believed to have provided the means. This is shown by the fact that no snafu occurred in all the series of acts conducted during the session last Feb. 4 before JDV was voted out.

Every step was adroitly carried out from the time the position of house speaker was declared vacant up to the actual voting. In the final tally, he was left holding almost an empty bag with only 39 congressman standing firmly by his side after his last ditch efforts to keep his post failed. It is thus that his ouster is no less the invidious handiwork of persons with an ax to grind against him in cahoots with some of his trusted lieutenants.

Certainly, some arm twisting coupled with subtle intimidation like decrease of CDF could have been included in the stratagems employed in the co-option of many of JDV’s allies against the speaker. The threat of a decreased or delayed release of CDF, if ever it was resorted to, is unbearable and unacceptable on the part of the co-opted allies of the erstwhile speaker as it is the lifeblood of their political careers.

At best, this is the most logical explanation on the sudden turnaround of many party stalwarts against JDV. Ironically, the co-opted allies could be the same bunch who elected him speaker in July of last year.

That election was his fifth which clearly indicated the trust and confidence of the overwhelming majority of his colleagues in his dynamic leadership. His innate skill in forging a coalition, branded as “rainbow” coalition, of pro-administration congressmen from diverse political parties that earned him 12 years as house speaker is a testament to his political gumption, political savvy, cool strategies and political acuity.

It can be said that his vigorous leadership contributed not a little to the macroeconomic growth of the economy during Ramos time and likewise the macroeconomic that the present dispensation is enjoying after it struggled arduously during its incipient years.

The loss is excruciatingly painful, to say the least, but his having been elected five times to the post of House speaker is unprecedented and presumably unmatched in the history of Phillippine politics. During the 9th and 10th congress, while the senate presidency swung like pendulum and rocked like a musical chair from Neptali Gonzales (after Jovito Salonga’s ouster as senate president sometime in 1991) then to Edgardo Angara then back toNeptali Gonzales again,
JDV was at the height of his political power as he held sway over the house of representatives as an unbeatable speaker during both congresses.

At any rate, the vagaries in the political fortunes of the speaker was quite untimely because all along everything seemed to be going well between him and the family members of those whom his son dragged into the ZTE controversy. This was evidenced by photo-ops characterized by public display of harmony and goodwill a few days before his fall.

Who could have imagined such smile to be so affected and beguiling enough to be a smile of displeasure. And who could have considered that such outward display of amity from his enemies was just a subtle veneer to camouflage the devious machinations for his ouster. Himself a shrewd man, he could have had an inkling of the evolving scheme to dethrone him so he tried to play his cards well during said photo-ops.

In the end, though, the dynamics of malicious politics as played by reprobate politicians, which included his erstwhile supporters, did him in. Thus, the tyranny of numbers decided his political fate on the heels of seven months after his fifth election as house speaker. What’s worse in this was that many of those who supported his coalition in the past year as house speaker just simply dumped him like a stale potato in favor of the one sponsored by his powerful enemies.

An investigative journalist aptly described the way he was booted out by many of his steadfast supporters as akin to a stabbing by “a hundred political knives.” Inevitably, when the smoke of the hullabaloo cleared, friendships were broken, political ties were snapped and goodwill was shattered. It is treason at its worst with insidious acts all too obvious for the world to see
which can only happen in politics.

Machiavelli, prince of pragmatic politics, once stressed that: “In politics, there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies but only permanent interest.” The insights in the above quotation clearly exemplifies the unscrupulous action of JDV’s supporters from among his peers that led to his downfall. With power as the only permanent interest in politics,
one’s friend could be an implacable foe foe or one’s enemy today will be your ally tomorrow.

The case of JDV’s supporters turning against him is an example but a reverse could be cited as a classic example. Violeta Chamorro, who defeated Daniel Ortega after the latter’s 11-year reign as Nicaraguan president, in 1990 allied herself with the latter last year. So on November 7, 2007,
Daniel Ortega took his second oath as Nicaraguan president helped in no small way by Chamorro’s support.Thus,if nothing’s permanent in life except change, in politics nothing’s
permanent except power.
***
Politics, as in life, is buffeted by vicissitudes in which one maybe on top for one moment, rolling downhill in the next and lying flat on the plain in another. It is a roller-coaster ride and being synonymous with power, it is as tenuous as fibre or evanescent like a dew. However, the end may come longer for some and faster and shorter for others.

The rough-and-tumble of politics is governed by no hard and fast rules and is anybody’s game. Its vicious nature as a profession, vocation, occupation or what-have-you is reserved for the intrepid, tough-hearted and masochistically inclined as they are the only ones who derives pleasure from it. By all means, weaklings have no space in politics.

It is so unlike sports in which rules for a game are stipulated to serve as guidance even as every item is considered with violations credited against the offending team or individual player during play time. But, there are rare gems in the political firmament who were able to maintain their integrity even as they are in the maelstrom of politics.

Vaclav Havel, the current president of the Czech republic, is an intellectual who was elected
as Czechoslovakia’s first democratic president. Many doubted his capacity to govern at first given his lack of experience in politics and his chimerical idealism.

But he proved all his detractors wrong when he not only survived the first years of his
governance unscathed but showed strong mettle as a leader. On the home front, Baguio congressman Mauricio Domogan and councilor Galo Weygan are proving themselves venerable leaders with morality governing most of their public acts If you have the heart to commit treason to your friend or ally, even sleep, with your enemy to achieve power, then the rough and tumble world of politics belongs to you.