Cito Lorenzo

Last Thursday I had lunch with former Agriculture secretary Cito Lorenzo. I have not seen Cito since his sudden departure last October 2005, and I was pleasantly surprised to see him in good health and in high spirits. Gawad Kalinga’s Tony Meloto joined us and we had a very interesting conversation on many subjects, inevitably touching on the very sensitive issue of the infamous fertilizer scam.

Cito looked well, composed, and with a noticeable aura of peace and calmness that he exuded, belying the difficult years he went through as he tried to cope with the mess that he suddenly found himself in. He admitted his first year in exile (he stayed mostly in the Virginia area outside of Washington, DC) was the most difficult part with the feeling of loneliness and having to see his wife and children suffer this unwanted fate.

That was the moment which made Cito realize that there had to be something more meaningful in life than fame and fortune. Because of his Jesuit upbringing, his strong faith in God and the values that were passed on to him by his parents especially his mother, Cito says these were what gave him the strength to redirect his life. 

It was actually Max Soliven that recommended Cito to join government. Max knew Cito’s father Moro Lorenzo, a self made man and a basketball star of the Ateneo during the ’50s. Max knew Cito had his heart in the right place but little did we both know that Cito’s first and only government post would end up in a disaster.

Nonetheless, Cito had so many ambitious plans and a vision for the agriculture sector and most especially for the farmers. But he soon realized he had been so naïve about how the corrupt bureaucracy worked, compounded by his unfamiliarity with the system and his relative inexperience about politics in this country. All of these virtually swallowed up his vision and all the good intentions he had for the agriculture sector.

In the end, Cito increasingly became frustrated with the system that ultimately got him caught in a maze of controversy, which made his very low-key wealthy family — his mother and siblings — suffer from a lot of pain and embarrassment because of the ensuing bad publicity that muddied the Lorenzo name and reputation. But more than the stained reputation, Cito became aware that his wife and children’s safety were already at risk. This finally made him quickly decide to live abroad for the next five years.

It is important to note that this fertilizer scam had already caused the killing of three people — journalist Marlene Esperat who was investigating the scam when she was brutally murdered in front of her family; Teofilo Mojica who reportedly had documents proving how funds were diverted in Region 12; and Gumersindo Lasam who testified during the Senate inquiry on the fertilizer scam.

Cito’s self exile made him realize even more that there were other, more important things in life so he actively got involved with Gawad Kalinga and helped raise funds for it while living in the United States. It was in Gawad Kalinga that Cito and his wife, Malen, witnessed how the poor struggled to lift their conditions, realizing that the most pressing problems of poverty go beyond the people’s need for decent homes — but the need for livelihood. Families yearn for a better future, and parents aspire for a better life for their children — and this was what Gawad Kalinga had to offer to those who wanted to do something meaningful in life.

The time away from the country also made Cito realize how much he missed the Philippines and made him appreciate better the little things about the average Filipino. The real measure of a man’s worth is not how much money you have in the bank, Cito says, but what counts most are the number of sincere and genuine friends a person has. The fertilizer controversy almost immediately showed him how many of these friends he had. He said he could count them with one hand.

The time to come back after GMA’s term was always part of his planned schedule. At the right time and when the “atmosphere” is right, Cito plans to tell everything he knows about the fertilizer scam not out of vengeance for his un-ceremonial dismissal from the Cabinet by GMA, but out of a sincere desire to set things right for the country. What happened to him must not happen to people who sacrifice and join government only to be “thrown to the wolves”.

Cito came back because he says he owes it to his country, his family and most especially his wife and children (two of whom joined the priesthood) to tell the truth about everything he knows. Knowing Cito, he will do what is right and just. He’s a good man.

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