Raves for ‘RAVS’
This is a column I just had to write if I wanted to be true to myself. I’ve always believed that as a journalist, I have to shine a laser light on people who are stubbornly true to their principles and their sworn oath.
One of my fictional heroes is Jack McCoy, the crusading lawyer and district attorney in the drama series Law and Order (1994 to 2010 and again from 2022 to 2024.)
In real life, the late senator, presidential spokesman and human rights lawyer Rene A.V. Saguisag (“RAVS) was one of my heroes. He was a crusader created by no script, but performed his role on earth with the depth and authenticity of someone who wanted to do right by the law and his fellowmen. So when the Great Director Up There said, “Cut,” Rene knew he had done well and there was no need for a Take Two.
He once said in an interview with Esquire Philippines, “I’d rather earn psychic income because that was what drove me to law school in the first place—to make a difference for the poor, the obscure, and the oppressed. Of course, psychic income is not treated as legal tender in Cash & Carry, but it satisfies you in a more meaningful sense.”
I knew Rene because he was one of the closest Cabinet officials to President Corazon Aquino when she assumed office, and I was the close-in reporter, and later the executive editor of the Presidential Press Staff. Rene called me “Prima” because his late wife Dulce Quintans was my husband Ed’s second cousin.
The late President’s oldest child and then confidential assistant Ballsy Cruz says, “I will always remember RAVS as synonymous with HONESTY.”
She recalls: “After coming back from the US with the advance party for Mom’s official visit, he returned his ‘excess per diem.’ Apparently it was the first time someone returned sukli and the staff had problems with the accounting entry…”
“I remember fondly Rene, the boy from Mauban, Quezon, who was adopted by millions when he ran and won a senate seat,” adds Margie Juico, who was Cory’s Appointments Secretary. It will be recalled that “Ampunin si Saguisag. Put an honest man in the Senate” was Rene’s campaign slogan.
Then Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo and Rene Saguisag were unafraid of armored tanks and bullets, but according to Margie, “their fear of disappointing Tita Cory was unbelievable.” Thus Rene would attend state dinners even if he whined all day about having to attend one.
“Rene took pride in being poor yet a Harvard lawyer, but his brilliance in speaking and writing was exceptional. I will miss him and I salute him for serving his countrymen by fighting for freedoms they deserve. Truly a great and wise man!” says Margie.
Fatima Lim, one of Rene’s confidential assistants during his Malacañang and Senate years, writes: “For a few years at Malacañang and in the Senate, I witnessed, firsthand, how in the putrid morass of Filipino politics, there was this man who remained unsullied by filthy lucre, unimpressed by fleeting fame, and undeterred by coups and corruption. Legendary are the stories of RAVS insisting on returning gifts sent to our office, including gallons of ice cream which were brought back to the astonished donor, in a completely melted state. A contribution from a questionable source was turned into a fund for the needy. What would have ended up, as expected, in a politician’s pocket was instead given to the sick, the homeless, and the hungry. I know this particular report is factual since he entrusted me with this charitable trust… RAVS lived in the same modest home on Bigasan Street in Palanan, uncommonly proud of his simple lifestyle ...”
“RAVS spoke gently, sometimes he could barely be heard. Oh, but what he had to say, in a measured manner that was so succinct and rapier-sharp, could render a powerful figure into a quivering, blabbering buffoon.”
Father Flavie Villanueva recalls he knew “Ka Rene” from what his (Father Villanueva’s) father told him, “From the time I knew him since childhood he was a man of character, fairness and justice and ganoon pa rin sya ng tumanda at lalong higit nang naging tagapag-lingkod sa tao. My father didn’t use the word ‘politician.’”
Father Flavie admired how Rene spoke “with eloquence and deep knowledge of law, most especially in defense of human rights and those in the margins.”
Toni Gregory-Palenzuela, one of Dulce Saguisag’s colleagues and best friends at Mondragon, says of Rene: “In my encounters with Rene, he always spoke with calm resolve even if deep down he was bothered by what was happening to our country. When I visited him after Dulce passed, he was a man struggling to face the reality and impact of the loss of his beloved wife. He was helpless without her.”
Dulce’s death in a car accident in 2007, Rene by her side, almost snuffed out his spirit. The couple had just gone out ballroom dancing and Toni once said, “Dulce saved her last dance for him.”
“He became despondent after that,” says Margie. “He took badly his wife’s demise. He became a recluse. Then his friends, with help from family members encouraged him to go out and go dancing again. And he did.”
“Rene was true to form, but try reconciling his dancing with three of the sexiest DI’s you can find, post-Dulce, with his human rights record of defending the disadvantaged and oppressed, regardless of their guilt or innocence,” Margie says fondly. Rene was also a chess aficionado.
***
“There are many tales about Rene Saguisag,” says Fatima. “Some stories are too absurd and apocryphal to be believed, but many of these narratives are actually true. He indeed used to sell eggs and cut grass for a living. His brilliance astonished the Benedictine friars in San Beda College and impressed Harvard University, which awarded him a Master’s of Law degree. His resume lists pages and pages more of well-deserved accolades. Many luminaries will speak of his humility, honesty, and heroism. Then, there are the countless, nameless members of the masses whom he so generously and defiantly defended.” He also defended those who didn’t have public sympathy at the time of the trial, like former President Joseph Estrada in his corruption trial.
Rene went to Harvard in the late ’60s, the turbulent years of the assassination of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. According to online sources, Rene met Joseph McMicking while working for private companies in the US. He reportedly was hired by Ayala Corp. upon his return to Manila, but after he submitted his papers, he hitched a ride with a fellow Bedan and somehow ended up in a rally before the Supreme Court. It is said that that was a turning point in his life, for he decided he didn’t belong in the corporate world. He resigned from Ayala even before his first day on the job.
Rene then practiced law as a prominent human rights lawyer in the Philippines from 1972 to 1986. He ran for the Senate under the Liberal Party in 1987, promising during the campaign that he would only run for one term. He won the election, placing ninth out of 24 candidates. He stayed in the Senate until the end of his promised one term, in 1992. He was reportedly one of only two Filipino senators who attended all 415 session days from July 1987 to June 1990, with the other being Ernesto Maceda.
Paalam, Primo.
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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