Being credible

How would you explain the high public acceptance ratings of former Senate president Manny Villar, Senators Loren Legarda, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson? Not necessarily in this order, all of the above names have managed to sustain their high approval ratings in opinion polls. They appear to be as the most preferred presidential candidates as consistently shown by various public opinion surveys conducted by both the Social Weather Station (SWS) and Pulse Asia.

They, too, happen to be touted as among those with moist eyes towards the May 2010 presidential elections. While Senators Mar Roxas II, Richard “Dick” Gordon, and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan may be in the tail end of these popularity surveys, they are not necessarily disliked by the general public.

Top-of-the-mind recall and high public acceptance ratings are different. One can be well known and yet be rejected by the people. Indeed, one can be popular by having high public exposure and visibility in mass media. But to enjoy a high degree of public esteem requires much more than publicity. Indeed, the medium helps in the dissemination of the message. But the medium is not the message.

For these Senators eyeing the presidential race in 2010, it pays to be very visible in many of the televised public hearings of the Senate. But Villar who is not into this kind of publicity stunt is a unique case. Even when he was the Senate president, Villar never took advantage of his being the No. 3 highest official of the land with headline-hogging actions and statements at the Senate.

When he was ousted as Senate president in September last year, Villar quietly stepped down without a fight. After he was presented with the required number of Senators to install a new leader of the Upper Chamber, Villar respectfully turned over the helm to the most senior Senator, Juan Ponce Enrile who was chosen by the majority to become their new Senate president.

His ouster came a few weeks after he publicly declared his intention to run for the presidency, “if there will be elections in 2010.” As the president of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Villar’s early announcement was the go-signal for their partymates to rally behind his leadership before party-raiding or party–switching starts also early in the game.

Villar was too candid to admit his plans. And so his potential rivals pounced at him. It is not as if being the Senate president, Villar would give him added power or advantage over them. It was more of psychological edge they fear – that Villar would have as a presidential candidate.

Choosing a new Senate president without any known ambition to run for the presidency was their main consideration when the new majority picked Enrile. This explains the rather funny situation now at the Senate where pro-administration Senators, though less in number, have become the ruling majority.

Now relieved of the duties and burdens of being the Senate president, Villar opted to remain as an ordinary Senator without chairing any particular Senate committee. Thus, he could afford to traipse around the country obviously on his full-blown campaign.

Now, Villar’s arch critics among his Senate colleagues like Sen. Jamby Madrigal were making an issue out of his “disappearing acts” at the Senate session hall. And because of this, the brother-and-sister team in the Upper Chamber, Senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano recently became collateral damage to the harangue of Jamby at the floor against “absentee” members.

Jamby asked the Senate leadership to order the “arrest” of absentee Senators and that they be brought to the Senate. Little did she know that Pia merely stepped out to go to her office while Alan was really absent because he was at the hospital tending to their sick mother.

The two female Senators aren’t really on chummy terms. Naturally, Pia did not take Jamby’s attacks on them at the Senate floor without any equally biting repartee at the floor. Pia caught Jamby “lying” through her teeth when she denied that she had asked for their “arrest” by the Senate sergeant-at-arms. This Pia proved when they checked with the official Senate transcript. Although the spat of Pia and Jamby that erupts every now and then on personal basis, the issue of quorum, on the other hand, would continue to be a battleground between the new majority and minority grouping at the Senate.

There are 15 senators allied with Enrile since his installation as Senate president, by the new majority, including some minority senators who switched to the majority group that ousted Villar. Senate minority leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel leads the six Senators in the minority group that include Villar, Pia, Alan, Kiko and Sen. Joker Arroyo. In other words, JPE has enough members in his majority group to constitute a quorum!

Enrile could have used his mandate as the Senate president to summon all his confreres in the new majority to be present at all times and stay even longer, if necessary, to pass pending vital bills sans those in the minority bloc. Why so suddenly the quorum became an issue now at the Senate? This was never raised in most recent history of the Senate, including the time of Villar as then Senate president.

Perhaps, it has something to do with one’s public persona. Villar as a person and Senator is amiable. He gets things done. He leads not by diktat, but through consensus. He is not confrontational in dealing with people, no matter how some make it difficult for him.

Villar though has a clear vision of where the nation should go. When Villar bats for an entrepreneurial revolution, for example, his words resonate in the hearts of the great many that want to get the nation moving. When he speaks of promoting the spirit of “sipag at tiyaga” nationwide, across a broad spectrum of Philippine society, there is a deep conviction in his voice. His words are backed up by experience, and come from a deep understanding of how poverty is a challenge that one can overcome with hard work.

This should perhaps answer the question why Villar continues to top the performance ratings in surveys. He has trailed a close second to Vice President Noli de Castro in these mock polls for 2010. Unlike Ping, Mar, Loren and Chiz who either preside or attend televised Senate public hearings, Villar is apparently perceived by the people as doing his work outside the glare of media. Villar connects easily because he is credible.