One of the fiercest rivalries in Philippine collegiate basketball is between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University (DLSU). Kudos to DLSU Men’s Basketball team for winning the Season 79 University Athletic Association of the Philippines championship. In US collegiate football, the oldest rivalry is between Harvard and Yale. The second oldest is between Army (West Point) and Navy (Annapolis). This December 10, these two teams from the military academies will meet for the 119th time where the running record stands at 60-49-7 in favor of Navy.
One of the principles of war taught in military academies is to know the enemy. One has to know the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy so you know what to avoid, where to strike and what to exploit. When you know the enemy, you can achieve victory with minimal effort. Military forces achieve victory by using different kinds of strategy and tactics while observing rules of engagement. Rules of engagement are observed not only in the military arena but also in sports and in the business field. In the field of sports, there are guidelines of sportsmanship for competitors, while in the corporate world, there is business etiquette observed by competing businesses.
In the political arena, are interactions or engagements with members of the other political party governed by rules akin to sportsmanship or business etiquette?
“Coopetition” is a word coined from the combination of “competition” and “cooperation”. In the mid-2000s, coopetition was used in high-speed car races (e.g., Daytona and Talladega), where several competing, but cooperating, drivers took turns in alternately and systematically doing aerodynamic driving and drifting at various phases of a race without sacrificing victory at the end. In the motoring world, the cars Subaru BRZ and the Toyota 86 look strikingly similar inasmuch as these cars’ manufacturers cooperated and shared research and development costs to come up with a sports car, which Subaru and Toyota then marketed and sold separately as their own respective cars. In sports as in business, coopetition allowed the sharing of resources, but at the same time, preserved the value of winning over the competition. Amid all the competing forces in our democracy, can there be coopetition in Philippine politics?
I admire the clearly audacious, but calculated, style of leadership of our President Duterte. He gets things done, fast and decisively. Some of his actions, albeit risky, often politically incorrect, and unpopular at times, taken as a whole, bring us closer to what we all aspire for—a better country. On the other hand, I equally admire the hands-on, grassroots and interactive style of leadership of Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo. She personally touches base with her constituents (those with housing concerns while in Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council), empathetically understands what needs to be done, and serenely says the right words at the right time. With her recent resignation from the Cabinet, Robredo may now be considered as an “enemy” or an opponent of the Duterte administration, just like Sen. Leila M. de Lima. A review of recent administrations reveal that the highest ranking and the second highest ranking officials in the Philippines have come from rival political parties: Benigno S. Aquino III (LP) and Jejomar C. Binay (PDP-Laban), 2010-2016; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Lakas) and Noli de Castro (Ind), 2004-2010; Joseph E. Estrada (NPC) and Macapagal-Arroyo (Lakas), 1998-2001; Fidel V. Ramos (Lakas) and Estrada (NPC), 1992-1998; and Corazon C. Aquino (Laban) and Salvador H. Laurel (Unido), 1986-1992. Can our country be victorious when the president and the vice president are at odds with each other? Members of the Liberal Party and allies of Aquino III, who have been elected to government positions in the Duterte administration, have been receiving a lot of heat and unfavorable attention from the media and supporters of Duterte. The so-called Yellow Army, closely associated with P-Noy, has been consistently up against the Marcos loyalists, one of the stronger political supporters of the President. Battle lines have been drawn. “Enemies” have been identified. Who will emerge victorious?
In sports, he who crosses the finish line first claims victory. In business, the company with greater profits claims victory. But in politics, what does victory entail? For Duterte and Robredo and the rest of our leaders, there is no better battle to be won and no sweeter victory to achieve than having a better Philippines at the end of their respective terms. Victory, for me, can be achieved through coopetition—having opposing politicians cooperate toward the common objective of improving the lives of every Filipino while observing the political equivalent of sportsmanship and business etiquette. In the words of Chinese military strategist and author of the Art of War, Sun Tzu, “the greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
Coopetition in running a government may seem difficult due to the inherent distrust and competitive spirit among politicians. While there is as much competitive spirit in business, I have seen the value of coopetition in the aviation industry when competing airlines enter into alliances. As much as I yearn to see the 14-game winning streak of Navy over Army in collegiate football end this Saturday (Sunday morning Manila time), I hope to see the continuous bombardment between rival politicians cease. Most of my colleagues said one or the other or both is a pipe dream. I say, nothing is impossible. Go Army! Beat Navy! Sulong Pilipinas!
For questions and comments, e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com