Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 35 October 5 - 11, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
Loren
Legarda Leviste: Beauty and Brains… and Ambition Beauty
and brains. These were the first words that come to mind whenever one thinks of
Loren Legarda-Leviste, the youngest lady senator elected (placing number one
during her first try with over 15 million votes). Reports of her developing
association with Eduardo “Danding” Conjuangco Jr. however is showing another
side of the lady senator. BY
ROWENA CARRANZA Independent Loren
will always be remembered for her admirable performance during the Estrada
impeachment trial as a senator-judge. Her intelligence and media experience
helped her to outshine the other senators, most of whom were lawyers and more
experienced politicians. But
even before this, her “No” vote to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in
2000 established her credibility and strengthened her image as a serious and
thinking public official, a stark contrast to her basketball star and fantasy
movie idol colleagues who sat through entire senate sessions as if afflicted
with autism (my apologies to autistic patients). She
also endeared herself to leftists when she issued a statement in August 2002
after Jose Maria Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman,
was tagged as terrorist by the United States government. She said, “For more
than three decades now, Jose Maria Sison and a very special breed of Filipinos
have pursued an extraordinary course that has shaped post-war Philippine
politics and society in a fundamental way. One may not necessarily agree with
their alternative vision of Philippine society, but no one can doubt the
integrity of their patriotism or the depth of their commitment to help bring
about a more just and a more humane society.” Loren
was also involved in the release of several prisoners of war held by the New
People’s Army (NPA), traveling to Utrecht, the Netherlands to talk to Sison
and company and trudging up mountain trails to get to turnover ceremonies of the
prisoners. But mind you, not a hair would be out of place and the make-up still
perfect despite the long and grueling walks. She
has also espoused the resumption of the peace talks between the government and
National Democratic Front (NDF). Loren
also sought the deferment of the U.S.-RP joint military exercises amid the
Iraq war. She also opposed granting the U.S. military access to Philippine air
space, ports, and other facilities without some "security requirements such
as (military) equipment, not necessarily in monetary terms." "I
personally think that we should stay out of the war (in Iraq) although I value
our relations with the United States. We should not join a war that is not ours,
as we have many domestic problems," she said. She
also took up the cudgels for media men, campaigning for the decriminalization of
libel filed against newsmen. Some
of the bills she sponsored are landmark legislations, including the Clean Air
Act, Early Childhood Care and Development Act, Integrated Solid Waste Management
Act, Anti-trafficking in Women and Children Law, and Absentee Voting Law.
According
to the official web site of the Philippine Senate, Loren had the most bills and
resolutions filed (479 to be exact). Among them are resolutions concerning human
rights, environment, women and children’s rights and welfare, overseas
Filipino workers, and peace. Among
the last ones she filed was a resolution seeking to honor the centennial birth
anniversary of Ka Bert Olalia, a labor leader detained during martial law. As
the majority floor leader, Loren handles the Senate committee on rules and is an
ex-officio member of all committees. She is perceived as an efficient and
effective Senate leader. The public apparently agrees since Loren has consistently been among the topnotchers in surveys by different polling groups. The latest survey by Ibon Foundation places Loren as No. 1 choice by respondents for vice president with 23.40 percent. A recent Social Weather Station survey on the other hand puts Loren in second place. Issues
against Loren But
the lady senator is not without controversies. The most prominent – and
entertaining – was when Ador Mawanay, a witness against Sen. Panfilo
Lacson’s involvement in narco-politics, alleged during a senate committee
hearing that Loren bought PhP 8.9 million worth of smuggled phones from him. But
not even Loren’s critics could swallow Mawanay’s story. Loren though lost
her cool during the committee hearing and earned criticisms from the public. Meanwhile,
media personalities who continue to have television shows while serving as
public officials are believed by many as violating the law that defines a code
of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees. They are
forbidden to “engage in private practice of their profession unless authorized
by the Constitution or law, provided that such practice will not conflict or
tend to conflict with official functions.” Loren,
along with several other media-celebrities-turned-politicians, has been
questioned for “straddling between the Senate and the media” – two
institutions that should check each other. Loren responded by invoking the
principle of separation of powers. In
his column in BusinessWorld, Vergel Santos noted: “That would be
laughable if it were not dangerous. Legarda wants to keep all the powers she has
taken for herself -- powers meant to balance one another and, therefore, to be
exercised by separate individuals or institutions.” Loren
does not only host a show (Tara, Tena, ABS-CBN, on Saturdays at
10:30-11:30 a.m.) but does commercials, too. Santos criticized her for promoting
a Proctor and Gamble detergent and saying, “one naturally wonders whether the
deal stretches beyond the commercial.” Santos
cited an Asian Wall Street Journal report that Proctor and Gamble last year
contributed $100,000 (or PhP5.475 million) to Legarda’s foundation. Aside
from the detergent, Loren also came out in a Philippine Information Agency
infomercial on planting trees and on a print endorsement of the Mandarin Hotel
in Makati City. Loren,
who helped secure the release of kidnapped broadcast journalist Arlyn de la Cruz
in 2002, was also reported to have facilitated the payment of P2 million ransom
to dela Cruz’s kidnappers. The news wire Agence France-Presse quoted the
AFP’s “Journal of Incidents” for the period covering “1700H April 27 to
1700H April 28” as saying the kidnappers handed Arlyn de la Cruz to a Legarda
intermediary in Jolo Saturday after the money was paid "for the release of
the victim.” The AFP’s information office later said it has no reports
regarding ransom payments for Dela Cruz. Loren’s
participation in the release of De la Cruz also created a rift between her and
Sen. Noli de Castro who had also negotiated for De la Cruz’s release. De
Castro had been negotiating for the release and giving the media an update on De
la Cruz’s condition. According to De Castro, Loren called up his intermediary,
Prof. Mashur Bin Ghalib Jundam, whose calls to him then abruptly ended. When de
la Cruz was finally released, it was with Loren and not De Castro. De Castro was
quoted in the papers as saying he doubted if de la Cruz was indeed released only
through "himas-himas" (friendly persuasion). There
were also talks about Loren’s husband, former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste,
being involved in the awarding of
the PhP2.9-billion Batangas International Seaport project to a non-complying
bidder. Loren
defended her husband, saying “the matter of the awarding of the contract was
the exclusive affair of the Philippine Ports Authority.”
The board, in awarding the project to Shimizu, only affirmed a decision
made by the previous board under the Estrada administration. Resignation Loren’s
resignation last week from Lakas political part was more or less a signal that
the campaign for the 2004 elections is heating up. Her resignation was lauded by the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, which said, “It is always a wise move to distance oneself from a party that has lost its principles and a party head whose word cannot be trusted.” But then, was Loren’s resignation brought about by conflicts in principles – or conflicts in political plans? It has only been Vice President Teofisto Guingona who has really dared to openly express opposition to any of Macapagal-Arroyo’s policies – even to the point of giving up his position and privileges. It is more likely that the dominant factor in Loren’s resignation was her 2004 political plans. When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo decides to finally confirm that she will run for president (and there has never been any real doubt that she will), Loren and other Lakas members who have been flirting with the Nationalist People’s Coalition’s most likely frontrunner, Danding Cojuangco, have no recourse but to resign. The
workers’ union of San Miguel Corp., a food and beverage giant controlled by
Cojuangco, has issued a statement, warning Loren not to “commit political
suicide” by aligning herself with Cojuangco. This, it said, puts the
senator’s integrity
and sincerity in serving the interests of workers and ordinary people into
question. Ambition The third word that comes to mind when thinking of Loren is the word “ambition.” It was also the word used by some Senate reporters when asked by this writer to comment about Loren. Loren has ambitions, they said. But then, ambition is not a bad thing. It is only when you allow ambition to override your principles that it becomes a negative factor. Loren has some made good decisions in her career and taken actions that showed an independent and critical mind. Many hope that her ambition for a higher political office would not take her away from this independent and critical position. Bulatlat.com Related
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