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Asenator of the 8th Congress (which convened in 1987) liked to boast
that eight of the 24 senators in that body had masters degrees from
Harvard. I covered that senate as a beat reporter but I am not sure
whether that figure was accurate.
I know this for a fact: Johnny Ponce Enrile,
Ernie Maceda, Rene Saguisag and Bobby Tanada indeed got master of
law degrees from that university. And Sonny Alvarez trained at
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I can’t recall the other
three.
The Harvard training, though an important point
of reference, was largely obscured by the presence of three Sigma
Rhoans in that senate. Not only were Enrile, Senate President Jovy
Salonga and Ed Angara “brods.” They were—and still
are—members of an elite class of top-notch lawyers.
The composition of the present Senate has hardly
changed. Then, and until now, there is a tribe-like character to
that body. There is always a deep association—or a connection
somewhere—that binds its members. This is true in the Senate. This
is true in the House of Representatives. This is true in the
executive branch of government.
In reality, the most dominant feature of
Philippine politics is its tribal character.
In the current senate, four trained at the
Philippine Military Academy: Rodolfo Biazon, Gregorio Honasan,
Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes. Three are movie actors: Jingoy
Estrada, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla. Three had previous connection
with a law firm, ACCRA: Enrile, Angara and Dick Gordon. Three are
Upsi-lonians : Gordon, Joker Arroyo and Francis Pangilinan. Two of
the original Sigma Rhoans of the 8th Congress–Enrile and
Angara–are still very much around.
Based on numbers, no other Philippine
institution has trained more members of the Philippine senate than
ACCRA. The roster of current and former senators that had worked for
the law firm is long: Angara, Gordon, former Senators Frank Drilon,
the late Senators Cayetano and Roco. Enrile, was never officially
connected with the firm, though he definitely helped form the ACCRA.
Enrile, the current senate president, and Angara
and Drilon, both former senate presidents, are fraternity brothers.
In a span of 20 years four Sigma Rhoans had sat as senate
presidents: Salonga, Angara, Drilon and Enrile.
Salonga led the 8th Congress. Enrile leads the
current one. That one school fraternity has dominated the Philippine
Senate this long–and may continue doing so in the next
generation–is a testament to the staying power and endurance of
tribes in Philippine politics.
The fact that the elected senators almost always
belong to tribes is the reason why several staffers remain in their
Senate jobs, despite the demise of their bosses or the exit of their
bosses from politics. In this particular area, nothing can beat the
networking skills of the members of another fraternity–the Alpha
Phi Beta fraternity.
Some of the middle-level staffers of Sonny
Alvarez, a former grand archon of the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity and
who was senator from 1987 to 1995, became the top people in the
Senate staff of the late Senator Robert Barbers, a frat brother of
Alvarez.
A middle-level staffer of Alvarez became the
chief of staff of Barbers. A legislative aide of Alvarez became the
point man of Barbers for legislation and policy. The Alphans in the
staff of Alvarez who expressed interest in working for Barbers got
in without much question.
In private, these fraternity brothers never
called Alvarez or Barbers “Mr Senator” or “Sir.” It was
always “Brod.” The late Senator Robert Barbers was so loyal to
his fraternity brothers that he asked his sons in public service to
give employment to unemployed “brods.”
Was there ever a “police connection” in the
Senate? For the record something to this effect can be cited: Former
Senator Fred Lim used to be the boss of Barbers at the Western
Police District. The father of Senator Honasan, it was reported,
used to be an officer at the Manila Police Department, when the MPD
was the premier police force in the country.
Some will claim that it is the movies and
entertainment sector that has been the unfailing contributor to the
Senate membership, starting with Joseph Estrada, who with Enrile ran
and won under the opposition alliance in the 1987 senatorial
election.
Then came Tito Sotto and Ramon Revilla and a
slew of actors/athletes/entertainers that won Senate seats.
But since Erap Estrada’s time senators from
the entertainment sector have been largely free and independent
spirits with no real binding ties. Their sense of camaraderie and
kinship is more for the klieg lights than the real, world, where
networking and “connect” are the name of the game. Hence,
showbiz connection often goes unnoticed and leaves no mark.
mvrong@yahoo.com
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