Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts

Issue No. 25                       August 5 -11,  2001                    Quezon City, Philippines

The Political Animal
Teddy A. Casiño

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People Power Phobia 

It seems the ouster of SSS President Vitaliano Nañagas has caused a tremor in the ranks of the ruling classes and their apologists. Judging from their reactions in media and the internet, the general fear is that this will set a precedent for “mob rule” in the government bureaucracy.

This fear has manifested itself in various forms. Of course you have Nañagas himself who accused corrupt SSS officials as being behind the ouster campaign, saying the issues raised by the Alert and Concerned Employees for a Better SSS (ACCESS) were baseless.

What triggered the move, he said, were his efforts to investigate SSS officials involved in the behest investments and other shady deals entered into by then SSS President Carlos Arellano on behalf of former Pres. Joseph Estrada.

Senator John Osmeña said the SSS workers, who were “egged on” by Leftists, should have been sent fire trucks and anti-riot police instead. The Makati Business Club took on the mob rule bait, saying Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to let go of her appointee sent “dangerous signals” to reform-minded officials.

Meanwhile, members of “civil society,” mainly those based in the Ateneo de Manila where Nañagas graduated, swore by Nañagas’s reputation as an upright person and reformer. They said ACCESS was being used by those who were against reforms in the SSS, ranging from corrupt, overpaid officials to lazy clerks. Like Nañagas, they asked why ACCESS never criticized the questionable conduct of the previous administration and yet were raising hell over a simple matter like Nañagas’s management style.

Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo immediately calmed these fears when she declared that Nañagas’s ouster would not set a precedent in her administration. She also vowed that investigations into the SSS would continue, as well as the reforms started by Nañagas.

As proof of her confidence in Nañagas, she kicked him horizontally to the Development Bank of the Philippines, where the workers are now worried that they have been made a “tapunan” (wastebasket) for an unwanted executive.

It seems so ironic that those who benefitted the most from People Power – the political appointees, big business, the politicians, “civil society” impresarios and the President herself - are so critical of it now that they’re in power. Is this just a case of “wheather-wheather” (pana-panahon) or a showing of true colors?

Because in the final analysis, what happened at the SSS (it was a one-day nationwide strike, to be exact) was People Power reincarnated. It was “mob rule” in exactly the same way that Pres. Estrada’s ouster was “mob rule.” In other words, it wasn’t mob rule at all.

I should know. I was there from the time ACCESS raised its concern over Nañagas’s plan to privatize, via “outsourcing” and “joint ventures,” certain functions of the SSS. The rank and file had the position that privatization was not the solution to the problems of corruption and inefficiency in the pension fund. 

The rank and file had every reason to fear such a program. In other government agencies, privatization schemes ranging from subcontracting and streamlining, to corporatization in public hospitals, socialization and self-sufficiency in state colleges and universities, outright concessions and sales in public utilities and firms have not resulted in the better services or decreased corruption. It has only resulted in less jobs and busted unions.

That Nañagas refused to listen to his people, that he stubbornly insisted on his outsourcing and joint venture plans, and that he did it in a manner that seemed abrasive to the rank and file, was his own undoing.

Malacañang was at fault too, since the President refused to even consider listening to Nañagas’s critics. In response to several attempts by ACCESS to meet and talk to her, Pres. Arroyo repeatedly expressed her full support and confidence in Nañagas like it were a mantra to take away her headache.

And so like the impeachment trial, where our democratic institutions failed to serve justice to the people, the SSS controversy was a result of those on top failing to respond to the needs of the many below. We should thank the SSS workers. They had the guts to bring back “People” at a time when “Power” was all that mattered to our rulers. They herald the kind of militant and vigilant citizenry needed at this time.

So who’s afraid of People Power? Those who cannot understand the dynamics of the mass movement. Those who merely rode on the crest of People Power 2 and are now enjoying their perks and privileges in the corridors of power. Those who would like the wheel of change to stop while they’re on top.

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