Two good men

Tuesday, 09 August 2011 01:56

Written by Tony La Viña

The resignation of Senator Zubiri in the wake of election supervisor Lintang Bedol and Zaldy Ampatuan’s revelations of poll fraud took everyone by surprise. Nowadays, one can never expect a public official, nay a senator of the Republic, to resign as a matter of honor, social esteem, or a reputation for decency. If a public official is accused of official impropriety such as misuse of public funds or abuse of power, the current trend is to deny the accusation and cling to one’s position until the brouhaha dies down. When accused of corruption, the rule of thumb is to weather the storm by pretending to be the aggrieved party and filing cases against the accusers, and continue with one’s merry ways until the furor subsides. After all, one can always rely on the snail paced grind of our justice system and the proverbial short memory of the Filipinos.

Yet this was not always the case with our officialdom. Despite their own limitations, our pre-war and post war politicians such as Osmeña, Recto, Diokno, Taňada and their kind gave more premium to good name and reputation than their positions. A case in point is the humble and self-effacing Sergio Osmeña who gave up his constitutional right to succeed Quezon by allowing the latter to continue on as president of the commonwealth government.

While delicadeza is an amorphous word suggesting proper decorum or behavior, it is best illustrated by the statement – I have sullied my name by my actions; therefore I will resign because it is the moral thing to do. This is the reason why Cory is a beloved figure. In everything that she did, she always acted with decency and took into account the moral sensibilities of the people. And she never faltered until the very end.

Why is Zubiri’s resignation unique? For one, never before has a senator of the republic resigned while an electoral protest is pending against him. With roughly two years into his term, Zubiri could have slowly dribbled his case until the next elections in 2013. That way, if ever Pimentel, the protestee, were proclaimed the winner by the Senate Electoral Tribunal, he would be left with nothing on the table but crumbs; a Pyrrhic victory for Pimentel if ever there is one. By his edifying act, Zubiri may have lost his post but he has gained the esteem of the people which is not bad considering that he plans to seek a fresh mandate in 2013.

Credit should also be given to Koko Pimentel who showed a dogged determination to pursue what he believed his right. We all know that if Senator Zubiri did not resign, Pimentel’s chances of being seated in the Senate were almost nil. After all, never before has an electoral protest succeeded in the SET. After a hard fought battle, Pimentel is not an embittered man but has shown magnanimity in calling his erstwhile adversary a gentleman. With his sterling credentials, and this I am certain of having known Koko as a classmate and coming from the same hometown, surely Pimentel will more than fill up the void left by Zubiri.

By their actions, both Zubiri and Pimentel have proven that delicadeza and decency are still living virtues in public office. They are two good men.

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