Honasan goes directly to people with motorcycle campaign

MANILA, Philippines - Rebel soldier turned senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan grabbed the attention of onlookers when he went around campaigning on a motorcycle.

The 65-year-old lawmaker, usually in a dark blue shirt, was accompanied by motorcycle-riding supporters, conjuring images of biker gangs that value freedom from convention.

Honasan and his companions were not wearing helmets despite a law requiring it. The senator, however, said the law’s implementing rules allow riders not to wear helmets if cruising at less than 10 miles per hour.

Asked why he chose the motorcycle gimmick, Honasan said: “(So that I can) go directly to the people, so that I can touch them and interact with them.”

From a swaggering officer who led uprisings to call for reforms, Honasan now projects himself as a politician who values independence and public welfare.

Honasan emphasizes the importance of an independent Senate that would advocate development.

“An independent Senate will give life to the principles of checks and balances that will ultimately convert into jobs, schools, infrastructure, hospitals and classrooms,” he said in a recent interview.

Indeed, some of the laws authored and co-authored by Honasan can directly affect the daily lives of Filipinos. They include the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act, the Solid Waste Management Act and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms Law.

He also claimed to be “a staunch advocate” for the environment, social reforms, national security, good governance, education and public health.

In his younger years, Honasan fought for his advocacies not through bills and congressional debates but through military adventurism.

A graduate of Philippine Military Academy class ’81, Honasan figured in a series of uprisings against President Corazon Aquino, whom he helped install in 1986.

He was granted amnesty in 1992 by then President Fidel Ramos, a fellow soldier and key player in the first Edsa Revolution of 1986.

While admirers regard Honasan as an idealistic persona with a strong political will, critics view him as an agitator with a messianic complex.

Voters ignored the criticisms against the former leader of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement and installed him as a senator in 1995. Honasan was re-elected in 2001 and again in 2007.

“I stood with many of our countrymen who believed in change and good governance,” Honasan said when asked about his past.

It is indeed ironic that Honasan, who was perceived as independent-minded, is being criticized for supposedly being a shadow of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Honasan does not mind being associated with Enrile, whom he said is like a father to him.

“I was his aide de camp, his security officer. I was with him in situations where life is at stake. While (the relationship) is personal, it is rooted in principles,” Honasan said. 

Honasan said he is ready to face the voters, whom he called the judges of the May 13 elections.