NICKY PERLAS ON NOYNOY AQUINO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY

05 September 2009


Noynoy – Enabler or suppressor

of the New Philippine Politics

By Nicanor Perlas

Noynoy can stifle the growth of new politics. Or he can enable the new politics that is emerging all throughout the country. Allow me to elaborate.

Introductory Remarks

...2010 is not an ordinary election. It will be the venue for an epochal battle between traditional politics and the new politics.

1) Reinforce short-lived, non-strategic unification

We successfully united against and toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. But in a few years, the luster and the euphoria of People Power 1 dissipated. In 2001, we again united against and ousted the corrupt administration of Joseph Estrada. But this time, the unity of People Power II disappeared in only a few months and inaugurated the worst political regime in the past 50 years .

Why? We united against something (an “enemy”) instead of for something. With the “enemy” gone, our unity shattered. And we went our separate ways. Yes, we restored democracy. That is important. But we had no common vision of what we wanted to do with that democracy after Marcos or after Estrada. We just wanted to get Marcos and Estrada out of the way. That was the point of unity. And, by its very nature, unity against something cannot last after the common objective of rejecting something is achieved.

From this perspective, asking all non-traditional and even opposition forces from traditional politics to unite behind Noynoy is repeating the same historical mistake. We are again being asked to unite against the abuses of the Arroyo administration and remove it in 2010. But it is not clear what we will be installing after the Arroyo regime is gone.

We are driven by our hunger to “win” in 2010. But we must have a different notion of winnability. (See below.) For we may “win” the battle but lose the war, as has already happened twice.

3) Strengthen personality- based politics

The old traditional politics is a politics of personality. And the politics of personality is a part of the larger traditional politics of “winnability”. The old politics believes that one of the key ingredients of winnability, is to have a personality with name recall and national exposure...That is why, until recently, traditional politics was littered with show biz and media personalities.
...

Asking people to rush behind Noynoy is asking Filipinos to enshrine the old politics of personality at the expense of the new politics of participation, vision and strategic agenda and a qualified proven leadership willing to advance that common vision. With Noynoy, are we asking the personality cult of traditional politics to rear its ugly head again?

4. Send mixed signals regarding political dynasties

We rail against political dynasties. We celebrate victories of candidates who triumph against political dynasties. What are we doing now with our clamor for Noynoy Aquino? Are we not advancing traditional politics of dynasties?

True, Noynoy does not come from a corrupt political dynasty. Nor is there any technical, legal violation of the anti-dynasty provisions of the Constitution. But are we not close to violating the spirit of that constitutional provision when we get excited about Noynoy simply because he carries the name of ma rtial law hero, Ninoy Aquino, and the late former president of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino? Does Noynoy have the necessary track record, leadership qualities, vision, strategic agenda to renew this nation?

5. Break the Link Between Inner and Societal Change

The new politics requires inner change as the foundation for political and societal change...

Traditional politics does not expect inner change.... The appearance of a political leader who can win enough votes is all that is necessary for success as far as traditional politics is concerned.

The unthinking acceptance of a Noynoy “bandwagon” destroys the important link between inner change and political/societal change. We can all remain who we are. There is no need for us to change to create a new country. Noynoy will do it all for us. We will be spared from all the hard inner and outer work necessary to renew the country. This is an illusion, one destined to break into pieces in the hard rock of political reality.


A Noynoy bandwagon marginalizes the importance of an educated citizenry and a cultural revolution in the mainstreaming of the new politics. A Noynoy bandwagon, in effect, sends the message that Noynoy is good enough because he is the son of two well-known and well-respected parent s. There is no need to examine his background and his qualifications for the Office of the President.
...
The unquestioning wholesale acceptance of Noynoy on the basis on nothing else except his biological relationship with Ninoy and Cory Aquino is tantamount to strengthening traditional politics. It cheapens the notion that new politics can only arise because a new and very different generation of citizens are prepared for it and demand it....

7. Favor winnability over character, track record, and vision

8. Misinterpret the Meaning of the Ninoy/Cory Heritage

Connected with all the above dangers is the deeper question of how we should understand the national events following the death of former President Corazon Aquino.

We are dealing with a spiritual legacy. We are dealing with a longing for a form of governance that is honest and clean. We are dealing with a search for a new politics where politicians are statesmen and women who, when they time for service is finished, are ready to let go of political power. At this point, we will not discuss whether honesty and integrity are sufficient to transform the institutions of government, not to speak of the institutions of society.

A spiritual legacy is not the same as a hereditary legacy. History is full of examples of how successor generations squandered the gains of the previous generations. The outpouring in Cory’s funeral meant the expression of longing for honesty, decency, and democracy. It does not mean that this automatically transfers to a son or a daughter by means of heredity.
...
What it does mean is that the nation is longing for a leader that had the traits of Cory PLUS the capacity to transform institutions and systems...these spiritual/moral and societal capacities cannot be transferred by simply having the same bloodline. These capacities are gained instead by means of hard work and a life-long experience of transforming challenges into initiatives that benefit the country as a whole.

Noynoy Can Enable the New Politics

Noynoy can do one thing that will dramatically reduce the dangers enumerated above. Noynoy can refuse the temptation of accepting his “destiny” of being the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party and, by wishful thinking, the candidate of all opposition to the current administration in an epochal battle of good and evil in 2010.

For one thing, the Liberal Party of Noynoy is NOT the only opposition party. Second, the Liberal Party, with its mixed track record, cannot re-brand itself, even with Noynoy’s blessing, as a non-traditional party. Thus the Liberal Party is a part of the spectrum of traditional parties even if there are individuals within the party who are non-traditional. The party as a whole is not the bearer of new politics. Will Noynoy survive the intramurals within the Liberal Party and present a vision and strategic agenda that transcends the Liberal Party?

And third, will Noynoy be able to unify the dozens of non-traditional movements and parties when, by a wrong decision, Noynoy will destroy the very foundation upon which these movements and parties of new politics are built?

There is one thing, though, that Noynoy can do to help enhance the longing and hunger of the majority of Filipinos for a new kind of politics. He can announce that he will resign from the Liberal Party and participate in a unification process with non-traditional political and social movements for new politics. He can lend his newly minted national stature to advance the cause of the new politics, both in terms of substance and process.

Concretely, this would mean that Noynoy will announce that he is willing to be part of an open process of determining who would be the best new politics candidate for president in the national 2010 elections...

This is the real challenge facing Noynoy Aquino. Will he be an enhancer of the new politics? Or will he be the instrument for marginalizing the new politics?