Ninoy, the model political leader

Today is Nov. 27, the 93rd birthday of Ninoy Aquino, our national hero who can be the role model for our political leaders today.

I always remember him as one of the great personalities who once made the Philippine Senate a bulwark of democracy and a gathering of visionary national leaders.

There was a period in our history when the opposition in the Senate was comprised of men of stature. Even during the presidency of the very popular Ramon Magsaysay, the Senate opposition was led by two intellectual giants, senators Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tañada.

Their speeches spoke of differences in the political philosophies and national visions from that of the administration at the time. I do not think anybody will attribute their role in history to the committees they chaired or the projects they funded through their pork barrel.

After Recto’s retirement, Tañada was joined by his fellow LaSallian, senator Jose W. Diokno. Together with other opposition senators, they showed that it was possible to have brilliant politicians who also possessed personal integrity and would fight for social justice and equal opportunity for all.

During the first Marcos presidency, prior to the martial law years, the opposition included leaders like Gerry Roxas and Soc Rodrigo.

In the 1967 election, with Marcos utilizing all his power and using Machiavellian methods, the young – barely 35 years old – Ninoy Aquino was the only opposition candidate elected to the Senate. He later said that his first two years in the Senate were very tough because he was trying very hard to prove that he was worthy of his seat. Nick Joaquin quotes Ninoy talking about those years:

“My God, I was forced to study to learn every trick in the book. I memorized the rules of the Senate; I burned the midnight oil going over the old Senate journals, reading up on old debates. I was determined to be a good parliamentarian. I was averaging 18 hours a day reading, reading. I had a staff lining up things for me to read and I’d come home with a bulging briefcase and sit down and read again . . . and I was trained by a great fiscalizer, Ambrosio Padilla, who was in his seat when the bell rang at five and stayed there until 11 in the evening, who asked no quarter and gave no quarter and went over every bill like a fine-toothed comb . . .  Most of all I learned from Tañada. Before making an attack I’d prepare an outline of it and submit it to Tañada and he’d grade it . . . (he) was an exacting mentor but he gave me the discipline to be a good prosecutor.”

With these words, the neophyte senator was already exhibiting certain facets of his future greatness. He understood that greatness did not come from being glamorous, although he was considered to be a celebrity. Nor did it come from simply grabbing power even though he was the scion of a powerful political clan. He was willing to undergo the rigors of intellectual learning and the discipline required to educate himself. At the same time, he had the wisdom to choose the right mentors and the humility to listen to them.

Indeed, Ninoy Aquino was an ideal opposition senator that other politicians should strive to emulate and be remembered for.

Each time we talk of elections, we lament the lack of political heroes – politicians who can serve as role models for our children. Political heroes are those who have used their leadership to bring critical issues to the attention of his or her people and convince them to get involved in helping make this world a better place for everyone and for future generations.

Philippine history has a gallery of heroes. But it is very rare for a politician to be hailed as a national hero. Even presidents have seldom been considered heroic figures in our history.

The two presidents generally acknowledged as heroes were Ramon Magsaysay and Corazon Aquino. Both were never considered as being in the mold of typical politicians. Magsaysay was more known as a guerrilla leader and as secretary of defense when he was able to suppress the growing Communist rebellion. During his 1953 presidential campaign, his campaign jingle’s most famous line was: “Our democracy will die kung wala si Magsaysay.”

Cory never ran for any government position before she ran for the presidency against Marcos in 1986. Her campaign was more of a crusade than an electoral campaign. Marcos used guns, goons and gold to defeat her. But Marcos had to resort to blatant cheating to try and stay in power. Aquino’s victory was the result of a People Power movement, not a victory based on a political machinery or campaign funds.

Ninoy Aquino was such a rare person. He was a thoroughbred politician who became a national hero by exercising political leadership. Even his martyrdom was a political act if we again define politicians as those who use their leadership in order to attain a national vision for the people.

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