spot_img
27.6 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Can ambition alone ensure good performance?

- Advertisement -

"Velasco's track record in public office pales in comparison to Cayetano's."

 

Remember those tense moments at the House of Representatives just before President Rodrigo Duterte was to deliver his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2018, and it was not clear from the obvious delay who would sit beside him as the Speaker?

Pantaleon Alvarez eventually did —for the last time, it turned out—as former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo replaced him the very next day, with no small help from Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in what appears to be a classic case of a bloodless coup d'etat involving not soldiers bearing deadly firearms but lawmakers eager to side with whoever would allow them to hold on to power and influence at the least cost.

- Advertisement -

Today, the House of Representatives would have been thrown into a similar uproar had a similar putsch succeeded, if the camp of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano is to be believed.

Last week, Cayetano accused Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco of violating their term-sharing agreement, where Cayetano gets to serve as Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, while Velasco would sit for the remaining 21 months until 2022.

The term-sharing agreement was brokered by no less than President Duterte as the two lawmakers had engaged in a close contest for the speakership last year.

What surprised observers was the sudden emergence of Velasco as Speaker material, considering that his credentials left much to be desired.

This is what we learned from our source: Velasco practiced law in the Supreme Court where his father Presbitero Velasco Jr.  was an Associate Justice until his mandatory retirement a few years back.

Presbitero Velasco Jr. is now the governor of Marinduque province.

Lord Allan Velasco once served as provincial administrator of Marinduque, and for a time also assumed the position of the president of the Marinduque chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines before winning the congressional contest in the province in 2010.

Velasco ran for a second term in 2013 but lost to Regina Ongsiako-Reyes, who hails from a prominent political family in the province. He protested Reyes’ victory, claiming that she was an American citizen. The Comelec and the Supreme Court both upheld his protest and he was proclaimed as representative of Marinduque’s legislative district in February 2016. 

During his first term in the 17th Congress, Velasco chaired the House Committee on Energy. He sits in the same capacity today in the 18th Congress. He was also chairman of the Oversight Committee of the Solid Waste Management Act and co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission. We would be glad to be informed about his accomplishments in these areas.

Velasco was originally a member of the National Unity Party (NUP), but decided to transfer to PDP-Laban when Duterte assumed office as president and party chairman in 2016. 

On the other hand, Cayetano boasts of an impressive track record in government. He served three terms in the House before being elected as a senator. In the Senate, he crossed swords with powerful politicians whom he accused of corruption. He was the running mate of Duterte in the 2016 general elections and was later appointed by the President as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

An objective look at the records in governments service of the two lawmakers would show therefore that Velasco's track record in public office pales in comparison to Cayetano's.

But wait, there's more to this than meets the eye.

The young Velasco, we assume, is being tutored by his father in navigating the labyrinthine alleys of Philippine politics, if not in the nuances of the law and jurisprudence.

That's all well and good, as most fathers do want to pass on their knowledge and skills to their progeny.

But what if the lessons imparted to the younger generation are less than ideal, or even contrary to established social mores and the constitutional injunction against conflict of interest on the part of public officials?

Investigative journalist Marites Dañguilan-Vitug wrote about the elder Velasco’s involvement in his son’s congressional bid  in an online article and later in her book, "Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court." Readers may want to read all about it—and other details in the former Associate Justice's comportment while sitting in that lofty judicial perch—and by doing so, may be able to determine how the younger Velasco would perform once the term-sharing deal goes as planned.

The question now is whether Lord Allan Velasco, given his limited experience in government, would be able to lead the 300-strong House of Representatives with utmost competence and integrity and resist pressure from within and from to uphold the national interest and the public welfare. We'll have to wait and see.

Who was it who said that “if you want to test a man's character, give him power”?

ernhil@yahoo.com  

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles