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It’s the
height of a Shakepearean drama that local officials who
work the hardest are the least likely to become
president. They are certainly the most qualified and fit
to assume the presidency. But the current situation
doesn’t favor them to aspire for the nation’s top
political post.
Misamis
Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno understands this absurdity
without any shed of rancor. He admits without any
hesitation that the presidency is farthest from his
mind. He does not aspire for it. But Moreno believes
that a local official—a provincial governor or city
mayor—will someday become a president.
“It
won’t be in 2010. But it won’t be long,” he says with an
air of finality.
For him,
the magic of telecommunications and the changing
political culture are factors which are altering the
political terrain. As the entire country gets wired,
ordinary citizens, even in remote villages, now have
easier access to information, allowing them to know the
performance of public officials.
Also,
the Local Government Code of 1992 has given greater
autonomy to local government units, allowing local
officials to exercise more leeway in the discharge of
their functions.
Moreno
views the Code as the single most important political
development that has bred a new class of local
officials. But not all is about local autonomy, he says.
Local officials have developed their own yardstick which
they use to compare each other’s performance. The
standard of performance is getting higher and local
officials have little choice but to meet the rising
standard.
Hence,
Moreno believes the forthcoming batch of presidential
contenders will come from local officials.
From
mere glorified clerks under the highly centralized
Marcos regime, local officials have gone a long way to
become key players in governance. As implementers and
policymakers in their political constituencies, they
exercise enormous power and influence in every facet of
public administration, whether in taxation,
infrastructure development, network building or peace
and order campaign.
Although
they have to depend on the national government for the
release of their constituencies’ Internal Revenue
Allotment and the lawmakers’ pork-barrel funds and
projects, local officials still manage to get their own
education in governance, as they are forced to deliver
the services to their constituents under the most
pressing and unfavorable circumstances, which include
plenty of political bickering and interference from
national officials, including members of the House of
Representatives, who are, in most cases, their political
rivals.
While it
is true that they have to play footsies with the powers
that be, local officials, on the other hand, are forced
to exercise a combined sense of political flexibility
and urgency since the delivery of services to their
constituents is still the bottom line for their
reelection. In most cases, local officials are the ones
who work directly with the people.
It is
still fashionable for local officials to attend to the
KBLs, or kasal, binyag at libing (weddings,
baptisms and burials), and TBOs, or trabaho, bisa at
ospital (work, visa and hospital) to maintain
rapport with their constituents, but they still have to
demonstrate a high level of competence and skill to
manage their office. Belonging to political dynasties
helps to a certain degree, but local officials have to
arm themselves with all the necessary skills to run
their office as professionally as possible.
This is
exactly the reason a new class of elite but performing
local officials has now emerged. As some scholars have
pointed out, the Local Government Code of 1992 has
somewhat initiated what they have regarded as a
revolution in local governance, making local officials
an indispensable cog in nation-building.
Yet, as
if they are forbidden to run for the highest office,
virtually no local official, except for Makati Mayor
Jejomar Binay, now a key opposition stalwart, and
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman
Bayani Fernando, has come out in the open to declare any
presidential aspiration, which is legitimate by all
means. Also, no local official from the Visayas or
Mindanao has announced his availability for the nation’s
top post.
Except
for then-Cebu governor Lito Osmeña, who ran
unsuccessfully in 1998, no other local official in
recent memory has gunned for the presidency. This is
understandable. The logistical requirement for a
presidential wannabe is now nightmarish. A presidential
contender should have at least P5 billion at his
disposal to wage a winnable political campaign. Besides,
he should have the backing of a major political party
and power brokers.
Moreover, local officials do not enjoy the coverage of
national media, making them virtually unknown outside
their respective political constituencies. Unlike most
senators and congressmen, who always land on the front
pages of the major dailies and enjoy full-time coverage
by broadcast media, local officials have to endure the
anonymity even when they work under the most stressful
circumstances.
In most
cases, the only time they enjoy national media attention
and coverage is when they get involved in graft or any
other infractions against the law.
Moreno’s
résumé mentions a six-year career in Congress, where he
gained national prominence when he filed and initiated
the failed impeachment proceedings against
then-Ombudsman Aniano Desierto for allegedly taking a
dive in the P5- billion tax-credit scam. Moreno had all
the beef, but his colleagues had other things in mind.
Despite his stunning loss, Moreno had gained the respect
of the public for his display of moral rectitude and
fortitude against graft.
He could
have run for a third term in Congress, winning handily
since he would be unopposed. But he chose to run for
governor in 2004, a decision which led him to veer away
from a possible national office, which is the Senate.
Self-effacing and low-profile, Moreno has chosen a life
of direct involvement with the people. He was reelected
in 2007.
Now,
Moreno presides over the province, which is now on the
threshold of a major economic upheaval. The P7.8-billion
Laguindangan International Airport, which is near
Cagayan de Oro City, is now being constructed and will
be finished by 2011. The Cagayan de Oro City-Gingoog
City road that passes through the hinterlands of Misamis
Oriental is nearing completion. Major industrial
concerns have been relocating to Misamis Oriental.
Yet,
Moreno is not the only provincial governor who
encounters this kind of appointment with destiny. Other
local officials are similarly situated, doing their
share, no matter how puny, for national development.
Yet, they go unnoticed, experiencing the tragedy that no
matter how they try, they are consigned to a life of
anonymity. The presidency seemingly does not belong to
any of their class. |
