We are losing our statesmen.
A great generation of political leaders for whom vision for the nation mattered is quickly passing. Our impoverished political culture is unable to replace them.
This week, Jose de Venecia (JDV) passed away. A visionary is dead. An age has ended.
JDV served an unprecedented five terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives. This is a record unlikely to be broken.
Those five terms is the outcome of a rare conjunction of political outcomes and an untiring appetite for building consensus against the odds. JDV rose to the speakership after his close ally Fidel Ramos won the presidency. He returned to the role after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo replaced Joseph Estrada.
It is not easy to win the speakership in the context of our fragmented multi-party system. JDV overrode the divisions by weaving together what he called a “rainbow coalition” – a supermajority kept together by a reformist legislative agenda as much as by political pragmatism. The final goals mattered – although very often they can be reached only by tireless cajoling, trade-offs and ceaseless alliance-building.
JDV never lost sight of the final goals. But he was never shy about horse-trading to get to them.
He was often described as the personification of traditional politics. But the man delivered the legislation that mattered at a critical juncture of our economic development. Those laws remain landmarks to this day.
Politics, it is said, is the art of the possible. JDV understood that well. And he worked hard to extend the bounds of what was possible.
President Ramos and JDV shared the same attitude of radical incrementalism. They both understood what it takes to achieve change in a democratic setting. The task required patient public diplomacy to build constituencies for reform. Nothing could be won by brashness alone. Nor by self-righteousness.
I recall when then president Ramos asked me to report about what was going on with the congressional pork barrel. I got back to him shortly after, reporting that we were losing about 40 percent of the funds to leakages. He paused for a while, then nearly beneath his breath muttered that this was a small price to pay to win the reforms.
When it was inevitable that we would be exporting our labor, JDV introduced laws that helped us institutionalize protection for our migrant workers. When it became a problem that foreigners working in the country could not own real estate, JDV introduced the condominium law. This was how he provided workable remedies.
JDV found me at Malacañang Palace consulting for president Ramos. He invited me to join what he called his “core group” – a band of irrepressible non-politicians. There were countless dinners with this animated group. Sometimes the discussions were tense; but the food was always superb. I learned to appreciate saluyot and bagoong during these affairs.
When he sought the presidency in 1998, JDV asked me to join as an independent adviser. While the politicians around him tried to regale the Speaker with accounts of who will deliver what votes, I privately told him we were losing badly to the immensely popular Joseph Estrada. The command votes we loved to imagine we control will be overwhelmed by the market votes.
After he lost that contest, his home, once bustling with avid supporters, fell eerily quiet. I went to see him one day and found there were only the two of us in the large house. We busied ourselves scrounging around the kitchen to cook some lunch.
Few people know about JDV’s culinary abilities. I will always remember this quiet meal, cooked by the builder of grand coalitions. Over that meal we discussed his return to represent his old district. From there he reemerged as Speaker of the House. You cannot keep a good man down.
In the two decades since he left power, the dinners with the “core group” continued. We continued to exchange gossip and conjure scenarios. I suspect JDV found comfort in the company of non-politicians – people who were not asking him favors but only enjoying the warm company.
Never once, during these lively sessions, did I hear JDV say anything bad about anybody. It is who he is: a kind person always choosing the see the best in everyone.
I do not recall a time when we collectively lost hope in our nation’s future. JDV’s optimism must have rubbed off on us.
During these dinners, Gina constantly hovered over the table, making sure everyone is well-fed. After dinner, she made sure each of us had our “pabalot” to bring home. She was a loving presence who made JDV’s waning years bearable.
Through all those years, when our collective opinion mattered and when they did not, we became great friends. We consoled each other during moments of grief and loss. We collectively celebrated during moments of triumph. And then we watched with sympathy as the years took their unavoidable toll.
We were like family – and JDV was like a loving father. The last time we talked, JDV was urging me to seek elective office. I told him I had no aptitude for it. I had none of the virtues – the immense patience and generosity of heart – that made him a great politician.
Publicly, we celebrate JDV’s achievements as a statesman. Privately, we mourn the loss of a good man.