ELEKSYON 2010: Illusions of Philippine Democracy, Part 1

We live in a society that prides itself as one of the champions of democracy. Influenced and fired by the ideals of Uncle Sam, the self-proclaimed greatest exporter of democracy, the Filipino people are always ready and proud to recite the popular uprisings of 1986 and 2001 as the greatest manifestations of the country’s love for democracy and its ideals. It is necessary to point here that most political theorists would define the word democracy as the practice or spirit of social equality, a condition of equality, and the common people.

How much of a democracy are we, really? We constantly boast that we have achieved an almost utopian level of democracy, thanks mainly, many would say, to our amazing display of people power in ‘86 and ‘01. But looking at some aspects of our political system and the way politics play in our society, it is interesting to note that the most basic, the most fundamental aspect of the word democracy simply does not apply to us. This article will discuss and tackle issues on democracy that will illustrate that we as a people have always been living in an illusion when it comes to the subject of democracy.

Political Dynasties and Social Status as Basis for Power

Enshrined in Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution is a provision meant to ensure the equality in access to public office. To quote: The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.

While the constitution of the land prohibits explicitly the perpetuation of political dynasties, it is interesting to note that any ordinary Filipino can recite as many political dynasties that do exist in their municipalities or cities. This is because the law has not clearly stipulated what can be classified as a political dynasty, and who are those who fall under this definition. It has been fourteen years since the 1987 constitution was ratified, but it was only in 1998 and 1999 that some legislators have actually attempted to define political dynasty in a bill. However, sad to note, not one of the 3 1998 bills or the 1999 bill Prohibiting the Establishment of Political Dynasties has ever been passed in Congress. Thus, without a clear definition, dynasties still exist.

To cite some important provisions of the 1998-99 bills banning political dynasties, a political dynasty is defined as the concentration, consolidation, or perpetuation of public office and political power by persons related to one another. By persons related to one another we mean people related up to the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, and these include an official’s parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, uncles and aunts, cousins whether full or half blood, and all their spouses. A cursory glance at the list of candidates for various public offices would reveal an astounding number of people who are related to one another, some many times over!

An interesting case study is the province of Cebu. The incumbent governor, Gwendolyn “Gwen” Fiel Garcia, is running for a third term as Cebu’s governor. Her father, incumbent Cebu second district representative and Deputy House Speaker Pablo “Pabling” Paras Garcia, is also seeking reelection. Pabling Garcia was Cebu’s former governor and upon completion of his three terms gave the reigns of power to his daughter Gwen in 2004. A brother of Gwen Garcia, Pablo John, is the incumbent 3rd district representative. It goes without saying that he, too, is seeking reelection. Two more Garcia brothers, Nelson and Marlon, are vying for Mayor of Dumanjug, Cebu and Vice-Mayor of Barili, Cebu respectively. A nephew of Gwen, Alvin Raymond Garcia, is vying for Councilor in Cebu City, while Duke Frasco, incumbent mayor of Lilo-an, Cebu, is Gwen Garcia’s son-in-law (him being married to Gwen's daughter Kristina). While other families like the Osmeña and Duranos are fielding various family members for different elective posts, none are as blatantly dynastic as the Garcias.

If truth be told, none of Cebu's electoral candidates, whether in the provincial, city, or municipal level, could actually qualify for public office, had the 1998-1999 bills on Political Dynasties been made into law. Not only are these public officials very closely related, as already opposed to the definition of related in the proposed bills, majority of these also own the major industries and businesses in their localities, thus making sure that the clout of their families would be perpetuated.

Although it has been clearly stated in our freedom constitution that everyone should have equal access to public office and that political dynasties should be discouraged, a look at our incumbent officials and election hopefuls would tell us otherwise. Thus, in the Philippines, equality to access of power is indeed an illusion.

ELEKSYON 2010: The Davide Family

The Davide family rose from being a poor farming family from the mountainous barangay of Argao, Cebu to become one of the most prominent families in the Philippines when one of its members, Hilario G. Davide, Jr., was sworn in as the 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines in 1998. Hilario G. Davide, Jr. is now the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations. His son, Hilario “Jun-Jun” Perez Davide III, a former first councilor of the City of Cebu, is the Liberal Party’s candidate for governor of the province of Cebu.

In this article, I will discuss briefly the history of the family of the Liberal Party’s candidate for Cebu’s governor.

The Davide family, as most Filipinos know, started in the mountain barangay of Colawin, Argao, a coastal municipality in the province of Cebu. Yet the family name Davide has traveled farther than just the Visayas. In fact, unlike most Filipino family names, the surname is not Filipino or even Spanish in origin or form. Family historians are unanimous in saying that the family name DAVIDE is an Italian version of the Jewish name David. Later, the surname was adopted as a Spanish surname.

The Meaning of Davide

The name David is possibly derived from Hebrew dod, which means “beloved”, perhaps the word dawid, which means “loved”, or “darling or beloved of God”, in turn derived from Dodavehu. It later became a common first name among the many Jewish communities scattered throughout Europe, until it was adopted by other nationalities especially in Russia, France, England, the Czechs, and Italy. The name took on the forms of Davyd (Russian, Ukrainian), Dawid (Polish and Yiddish), Dewey and Dovydas (Lithuanian), and Taavetti (Finnish).

The Davides of Argao

Like most Filipino family histories, the scarcity of resources on genealogical interest hinders modern researchers from digging deep into the recesses of time in order to discover a clearer picture of a family’s history. But the family of Jun-Jun Davide is lucky in terms of safe-keeping their family heritage for two reasons: one, the town from which they hail, Argao, is one of the few towns in the Philippines that has meticulously preserved its church records that go as far as 1842, and two, the patriarch of the Davide clan, Mr. Hilario Panerio Davide, Sr., compiled in the early 80’s a family history book of his family. His reason for making the “Family Record of Hilario Panerio Davide and Josefa Gelbolingo Davide and their Children” was, in his own words, “to memorialize the roots of their family and to have something that the future Davides will cherish for all eternity.”

The Davide family of Argao traces its roots to Esteban Davide and Nepomucena Ortega, both Argawanon natives who married during the middle of the nineteenth century, in the mountain barangay of Colawin. Esteban, as the records of the elder Davide show, was the son of Miguel Davide and Hilaria Carillo.

A cursory study of the records of the town of Argao would reveal that the Davide family could trace the family to as far as the beginning of the 18th century, to Pablo Alverto and Maria Landayanan. As was common before 1849, native Filipinos did not have a family name and instead used a second Christian name as a sort of surname for most of their lives. This couple gave birth to Francisco Modesto, who married Maria Susana. It was this ancestor who adopted the surname Davide in 1849 by virtue of the decree of the Governor-General Narciso Z. Claveria. All Davides of Argao can be traced to these two. One of their children was Benito Davide, who died in 1864 at the age of 84. He married Maria Norverta Cambare and had at least four children. One of these was Miguel, who was the father of Esteban Davide.

One of the children of Esteban Davide and Nepomucena Ortega was Pablo O. Davide, born on June 26, 1875. This man is considered by the family of Jun-Jun Davide as the founder of the present Davide line in Colawin. He was said to have been a humble but industrious farmer who was well known in their barrio. His humility and good nature earned him the respect of his neighbors, which ultimately led to his being elected as a cabeza de barangay of Colawin in 1877, a position that is roughly equal to that of barangay captain today. He served in this capacity until 1884. In the same year that Pablo Davide served as cabeza, Julian Lopez, another direct ancestor of Jun-Jun Davide who came from Cebu City but later settled in Argao when he married an Argawanon, was also elected to the same position.

Pablo Davide later married another Argwanon by the name of Teodora Panerio. The couple, known as “Tatay Amboy” and “Nanang Doray” by their grandchildren, lived a simple life with strict working codes. Pablo Davide worked on the farm helped by his sons, while his wife and daughters assisted in the preparations for planting and harvesting. Pablo, who many grandchildren remember fondly as being somewhat of a comedian, later on served briefly as municipal councilor of the town of Argao from 1924 to 1928. He died in 1946 in Argao, Cebu.

Pablo Davide and his wife had ten children. One of these is Hilario, the father of the former chief justice. It was Hilario’s sacrifice and exemplary life which prodded his children to succeed in their chosen endeavors. Raised also in the mountain barangay of Colawin, Hilario saw the hardship that one goes through when living in an area as far flung as their hometown. He made a resolve to make his children’s lives better, so early on in life he did well in school in order to chart a better future for himself and his future family. It was also while in school where he strengthened his resolve to improve his family’s lot. During a graduation ball, he was repeatedly turned down by girls when he asked them to dance with him. He overheard one lady telling her friend that the only reason why she didn’t agree to dance with him was because Hilario was “taga-bukid” (from the mountains). This haughty attitude by the “taga-lungsod” (city folks) towards Hilario and his barriomates made him even more determined to succeed.

After graduating from high school he was assigned as a teacher in another barrio in Argao. It was in the barrio of Talaga where Hilario met his future wife Josefa Gelbolingo, who was also a teacher. Both were ambitious and driven to succeed, and soon, in December of 1925, they decided to tie the knot. Their eldest son, Jose, was born in 1926. When their second child, Jorge, was born in 1928, Hilario decided that his wife better stop from teaching so she could take care of the kids. Pretty soon, five more children followed. The former Chief Justice, the sixth in the family, is the youngest son.

Like his father before him, Hilario Davide raised his family strictly. They had a saying that “each member of the family has a job”. And so, early on, the Davide children helped their parents in tending their farm. The sons helped in weeding the fields, in planting, in rearing the chickens and the other livestock, while the daughters helped in housekeeping chores. The sons also helped in gathering tubo (sugarcane), and Jose Davide, the eldest child, fondly recalls that his younger brother Dodong Jun loved to ride on the sledge with the carabao pulling it whenever they gathered tubo. No one was allowed to play until all schoolwork and housework were completed. If one made a mistake, both Hilario and his wife spanked their kids to discipline them.

Hilario Davide was later appointed as District School Supervisor, and one of his first contributions to Colawin was the building of an elementary school in the area. Indeed, before this, his own children had to walk several miles everyday just to get to their school. He never forgot his resolve to improve his children’s future, and so all his kids were able to finish their college education, a very big feat considering that the family was not well off and they came from a very far flung area. Indeed, sending all kids to school is perhaps the greatest legacy that Hilario Davide Sr. has given his family. Hilario Davide, Sr. was also a prominent figure during World War II. He was considered the civilian head of the guerillas in Argao while the Japanese occupied the entire country.

It is interesting to point out here that all the Davide children were able to finish school, and become the best in their chosen field. Thus, many of them worked for the government or government institutions, where their skills were honed and their name established. Aside from Hilario Jr., his older brother, Jose, was a councilor of the municipality of Argao while another brother, Dr. Romulo, initiated the Farmer Scientist Training Program, which allows farmers to make use of science and technology to increase their yields. Since the early part of the twentieth century, the Davide family has not only tried to improve their lot, but also the lives of the people of Colawin. Todate, they have been instrumental in many improvements in the area, including the building of a school, the Colawin Basin Health Service Center, irrigation facilities that other barangays, too, have benefited from, the building ofa chapel and a public library. Through the lands that they donated, the money they solicited from patrons, and their continued support and encouragement to the people of Colawin, the once ridiculed people of Colawin, the “taga-bukids”, can now proudly call their barrio as their own. Because of these, the family was awarded the ABS-CBN Bayaning Pamilyang Pilipino of the Year in 1997, in honor of their exemplary lives and dedication to the community. In that same year, they were also honored by the Province of Cebu as one of the awardees for Outstanding Individuals and Institutions. Argao also named them as one of the Outstanding Argawanon Families in 2009.

Indeed the Davide family has had a long ride in history. One couldn’t even help but relate the history of the family to the history of their family name. Their namesake, David, came from a poor shepherding family who later on became one of the greatest leaders of the Israelites. The Davides, too, originally from a poor farming family from Colawin, have become one of the prime movers for the advancement and improvement of their town. And, in many Argawanon’s belief, just as the little poor boy David, the youngest son in family, successfully defeated the giant Goliath, so too will Hilario “Jun-Jun” Davide III, the eldest son of the youngest son of Hilario Davide Sr., eventually put down the humongous task of battling with an overexposed incumbent governor. As long as the rest of Argao rallies behind him, Cebu will soon have its first Argawanon provincial governor by June 2010.

NOTE: I know the article is very pro-Davide, which I am. I am giving my all out support for Jun-Jun Davide, even though I also like what Gwen Garcia has done to the province, at least culturally speaking. In a future article, I will also discuss Gwen Garcia’s lineage, even though I am not supporting her. (Todd Lucero Sales)

OF HYPOCRICY AND REPRESSION: MANILA'S FURTHER IMPERIALISM

It continues to amaze me how we as a nation could boast that we love democracy and liberty and all those abstract nouns without looking long and hard at ourselves in the mirror every time we utter our adherence to democracy and its principles.

It continues to make me shake my head whenever I see the concept of democracy used by politicians who are, in reality, not after the truth, much less democracy. People who are only after their personal interests.

Why would the Black and White Movement condemn Cardinal Vidal? Why should they make such statements without any proof? When pressed for their evidence that the Cardinal instructed ALL 300 priests of Cebu not to officiate for feeble-minded-looking Jun Lozada, they would switch to moral authority and all that b*lls*it. Talk about hypocritical.

What does this imply of us Cebuanos? That not one Cebuano priest is strong enough to counter the Cardinal's command, if indeed he did stop these priests from saying mass? Is the B&W Movement suggesting that Cebuano priests, and Cebuanos by extension, are cowardly and could not think for themselves?

Who died and made Leah Navarro an expert on the workings of Church and State dynamics?

Who gave the B&W M the right to malign our Cardinal, our priests, and the Cebuano country?

Is this because the tone in Cebu is different? Is it because Cebuanos are more logical, and can think better, that now we are being accused of whatever pathetic accusation? Why should Cebu care for Jun Lozada? They want to make him a hero? Fine! Cebuanos do not consider thieves, even thieves who air out other thieves' dirty laundry, as heroes. Why should we? Jun Lozada admitted he committed graft and corruption, among other crimes. So now we are supposed to just welcome him to Cebu like a statesman? Not!!!

I am outraged at the insinuations that the Black and White Movement have made. I am ashamed to think that the people accusing Cardinal Vidal as a government puppet and alluding to the stupidity of Cebuanos are also Filipinos.

Whatever is the reality behind this controversy, I am proud to say that I am Cebuano. I am proud to say that my Governor, Gwen Garcia, and my Mayor, Tomas Osmena, and Cebu's most senior prelate, Cardinal Vidal, are willing to listen to all sides before making any stand that might ultimately be more harm than cure.

Cebu has always been a bastion of opposition. Above all, Cebu has always been a bastion of independent-thinking. Shame on Leah Navarro and her Black and White Movement for slandering the Cebuano people!