The book Crossover Leadership in Asia: Staying Whole in Two Halves could not have come at a better time. Subtitled From Civil Society to Government, its insights and inside stories seem tailor-made for the moment, as Filipinos at home and abroad grapple with another crisis surnamed Macapagal-Arroyo.
Who says coincidence does not vote? Production glitches moved the original launching date in September ‘07 to February ’08, just as People Power was simmering again. That was how the launch on March 3 in Global City, sidestepping Feb.29 on Ayala Avenue accidentally became a rousing pit stop in a new journey of nation.
The roots of present crisis and the odds to its resolution can be found in Crossover’s chapters on four Filipinos who, like their four Thai counterparts, took “the contentious leap into government service after years of effective NGO work.” “Out-of-the-box thinking” with a globally recognized Filipino brand gives a teach-in on severe ongoing struggle for national transformation, as timely as the “Yes, we can” campaign of Barack Obama, a former community organizer now electrifying America in crisis.
The four Filipinos are ex-Secretary of Education Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad, ex-Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita ‘Guing’ Deles, ex-Secretary General of the National Anti-Poverty Commission Imelda ‘Mely’ Nicolas and ex-social welfare secretary Corazon ‘Dinky’ Soliman, who resigned from the Arroyo Cabinet with the rest of the Hyatt 10 in July 2005. Turning a sharp corner in the activist ‘60’s and ‘70s, their life histories are powerful shorthand for historic struggle with self-serving elitism in and around government.
Was it really just seven years ago when a honeymoon began with the new government they helped install in civil society ethos with KOMPIL? Have nearly three years really passed since they left it in a rain of unexpected brickbats from a public jolted by the first call for the resignation of Gloria Arroyo in broken faith?
Intimate with their grassroots constituencies’ “history from below,” experience of “history from the top” in government completes the valuable perspective they share at a crucial time. The new and deeper crisis of 2008 spotlights the passion and people-empowering perspectives these four trailblazers brought to the Arroyo Cabinet as the selfsame reasons they resigned.
Crossover connect the dots: the same forces that have weakened our nation’s life force for decades also engendered the crisis of 2005. The same crisis reemerges behind new headlines on ZTE-NBN and the Spratly deal with China in 2008. A citizenry complaisant, under-informed, isolated or too weak to win and hold its ground (and waters!) against autocratic government finds a lifeline in the opposing visionary thrust towards authentic transformation of Filipino society, beginning with truth that continues to be elusive.
For one, is the Philippine presidency way too powerful for our society’s level of political morality? Here’s the NGO visionary Guing Deles, up close on Gloria Arroyo: “(She) seemed to be an arena of struggle herself. She manifested conflicting, even contradictory urges to do reform, on the one hand, but also to cater to what sometimes seemed (whimsical) political pressure…She displayed deep and comprehensive understanding of almost any (issue)…but…was also often impulsive, sometimes out-of-context, superficial, and simply populist, in her decision-making. She expressed strong support for reformist measures, but would undermine the reform agenda with the appointment of incompetent, sometimes morally dubious characters to sensitive – or worse, to constitutional – positions …”
And here are passages from Dinky Soliman’s chapter, whose “issues involving the First Gentleman (FG) were a regular complaint over the whole four years of her term in government.”
Writer Ma. Carmen Maclang quotes her extensively: “At first, I just felt sorry for this hardworking president whose actions were being misinterpreted because of her husband. In the first three years, the way she would respond to the issues made me believe that she was trying to do something about it…Every time FG was involved in a controversy, we would bring it up to her. She would always tell us that she would do something about it...
“But from 2004 to 2005, it became evident to me that she could not leave him and in the last two months before we resigned, it became clear to me that it was impossible that she did not know about her husband’s alleged dubious activities…” FG’s compadres would be part of Dinky’s rude awakening.
It began in the words of CODE NGO chair Dan Songco after a meeting with civil society leaders on “Hello, Garci”: “‘Dinky, your president manipulated the elections.’” The most painful part for an NGO icon was to be called a “deodorant” for a suddenly malodorous presidency.
Dinky’s eyewitness account continues in crisis: “…the entire Cabinet agreed that the first order of the day was Mike Arroyo’s exodus from Philippine politics...The decision to let (him) go was unanimous… we told the president that everybody thinks that the malaise in the administration has to do with him…
“…The second recommendation of the group was to ensure that the people associated with the First Gentleman, who were appointed in revenue generating institutions in government, would also leave. Three prominent names emerged…Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman Ephraim Genuino, Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi and Former Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante. Since the president had not been attending Cabinet meetings since June 27, 2005, seven officials were assigned to deliver the message.
“…When the president asked who these people were…the group mentioned the name of Genuino. The president responded by saying, ‘Ah, you know, he’s the one who takes care of the media and bishops for me. You think he’s Mike’s person, but he‘s been with me for a long time. I need these people. Of course you know you’re all important but these people have been with me and they get things done.’ I felt my jaw drop after she said that. It’s like she was telling us that Mike can go but these people cannot go because they help her in her survival.”
After the meeting, (Dinky), approached (Executive Secretary) Ermita and (former defense secretary Avelino) Cruz to tell them that the crisis was not going to go away, and that the president should do more to resolve it…The Cabinet then started convening to strategize on how to convince the president that a public statement was necessary...With legal advice from the four lawyers in the Cabinet, it was agreed that the speech would not indicate any admission that the voice in the tapes was the president’s.
On the other hand, one Cabinet secretary suggested that the president should tell the truth and say that she was willing to accept the consequences of her mistake. “If she admits her fault, then there is sincerity and genuine remorse for what she has done. Eventually, people will understand and forgive her. That was our premise, that’s why we prepared three drafts.”
(Dinky), who, according to her fellow Cabinet members had a ‘calming’ effect on the president, was elected decoy in the meeting where (PGMA) would be asked to make a statement. Right after (she) made their case, the president blew her top. “She was shouting at us. She said, ‘Dinky, hindi mo ba alam na magkakaroon tayo ng destabilization? Kaya tayo nagkakaganito. Huwag kayong papayag na magsasalita ako, kasi may destabilization.’
“Then she added, ‘Quirol (National Capital Region Police Director), Lomibao (Philippine National Police Chief), they were supposed to come out with that, why didn’t you notice? Then somebody in the group said, ‘Ma’am, we didn’t know there will be a destabilization.’ So the president said, ‘No, no, no, I thought you knew that…Then someone said, ‘But ma’am, that’s part of the problem, we don’t know these things. What we are getting are the sentiments of the people.’
“Then the president said, ‘…The ground commander for this is (DILG Secretary) Ronnie Puno.’ When she said that, nobody spoke for almost two seconds. Then it occurred to me…there was really no point for us to discuss any longer...”
After GMA’s thoroughly massaged “I am sorry” speech, the Cabinet meeting of July 5, 2005 was decisive: “The President started by saying, ‘From now on, the framework for governance is national security. We should bring out the fear factor. Let’s invite Hagedorn and Duterte to come in and show that we can take care of the situation…We will increase the budget of DSWD so the poor with be with us.’ Then (TESDA Secretary) Syjuco said, ‘Yes, because if they buy the Philhealth cards at Php 200.000, we will get their loyalty.’
“…That was the tipping point for Juliano-Soliman.”
There are many more dots to connect. There’s no substitute for getting this book at A Different Bookstore branch or ordering it online at imfo@incitegov.org and adifferentbookstore@hotmail.com.
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