A validation

One of the last official social functions hosted by P-Noy in Malacañang was the closing event of the Millennium Challenge Compact between the Philippine government and the Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC). The MCC was created by legislative fiat by the US Congress (during the term of President George W. Bush); it makes funding available for development projects around the world.

The Philippines was one of the first countries to benefit from the first compact and is, in the words of Ambassador Mark Green, a board member of the MCC when it was created by Congress where he was a key player in its conception, “the only country to get a second compact while the first was still in play.”

Visibly elated by the extension of life granted the Millennium Challenge Account Philippines (MCAP), which managed the MCC grant, were its chair, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, and manager, Victoria Añonuevo. Obviously, the new compact is a testament to the excellent handling of the funds and of the projects, as well as of the trust extended to the Philippine government.

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said he saw for himself how the compact achieved its goals, having seen the major highway in Samar, talked with residents of areas benefiting from the Kalahi-CIDSS projects, as well as consulted with officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who attested to the efficiency of the new computerized system.

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MCC CEO Dana Hyde said the second compact will focus on encouraging agricultural competitiveness and productivity in the country.

P-Noy in turn spoke of the difficulties in governing in a situation of “unlimited wants and limited resources.”  He noted how the $434-million funding was used to build the basics of economic development, from better tax collection, improving the necessary infrastructure, to developing human resources at the most basic, local level.

But to Public Works Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson, a board member of the MCAP, the biggest achievement of the compact was “the soft side,” involving the community and encouraging the empowerment of women.

Indeed, while money helps, it is not the only necessary ingredient in development. Also crucial are the transparency and efficiency of the people charged with managing the process, and tapping the strengths of the people who are not just beneficiaries but also partners in the full and truest sense of the word.

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WARMEST greetings to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and his wife Cielo who celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last Saturday with a reception at the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La.

Naughty host RJ Ledesma encouraged guests to post their greetings to and photos of the “GoldenWeds” using the hashtag #edcelandcielowestilldo. But of course that didn’t stop Ledesma, who is noted for his humor column in another paper, from urging the couple to “still do it” by repeatedly urging “Cong” Edcel to give his bride of 50 years a kiss.

Singles, marrieds and even old marrieds sighed with kilig and nostalgia over the overt show of sentimentality and romance from a couple who have awed us with their devotion to each other all these years. Not to be outdone, their seven children, 16 grandchildren and one great-grandchild put up a show for the GoldenWeds and their guests. Family members and friends made up the bulk of the guests that night, along with former and current political colleagues of the newly-elected congressman, and representatives of the legal profession, labor organizations (Edcel is a prominent labor lawyer) and reproductive health advocates.

The last group made for a particularly rabid “cheering squad” since Edcel was not just the main sponsor of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law through the House and through the bicameral conference committee. In the years since the law’s passage, he was likewise a regular presence at the Supreme Court hearings after “prolife” groups questioned the constitutionality of the law (which they lost) and then continued to frustrate the spirit of the law by getting the high court to issue a TRO on contraceptives. In between, Edcel was also a favorite resource person at different symposiums on the issue of reproductive health.

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EQUALLY memorable were dinners and parties held at the Lagman home in Quezon City, featuring luscious Bicolano cooking, where the congressman brought together friends from government and civil society to share celebratory occasions as well as to consult on difficult and awkward controversies.

I remember at one dinner that Cielo joined us at the table, smiling graciously at the spirited conversation and debate around her. Though she has devoted much of her married life to rearing her large family, Cielo brought to the marriage her strength of personality and her own achievements. A student leader like Edcel, she had begun her own legal training until, after several years of being in a relationship with Edcel (whom she had known since their childhood), they got married and began their family.

Their eldest daughter Krisel, who held down Edcel’s House seat for two terms, tells of how Cielo stepped into the breach in all of Edcel’s congressional campaigns, especially when he served in the budget department and could not, by law, campaign for the seat he was contesting. She was, indeed, a full partner not just in the marriage and in child-rearing, but also in the full, storied and enviable political legacy he will surely leave behind. All women and men—and not just reproductive health advocates—will always remember him with gratitude. But in the meantime, as a congressman representing the first district of Albay, he will “still do (it)!”