"The worst type of politician is the one who worships both power and wealth."
"The worst type of politician is the one who worships both power and wealth."
With the exception of President Rodrigo Duterte, quite a number of our country’s most conspicuous leaders view public office as a necessity, almost as if their hold to political power is a matter of life or death. They are consumed with the desire to stay in power by all means, fair or foul, and end up a disservice to the people.
Other politicians see public office as a means of getting wealthy, which is also a gauge of political power under existing Philippine social norms. They, too, are a disservice to the people.
The worst type of politician is the one who worships both power and wealth. They belong to the bottom of the cesspool of political scumbags.
Based on my impression of politicians in general, one brought about by decades of studying the way they think and behave, I developed a jaded view of almost every politico I have had the opportunity to meet up close in recent years. That impression may be a pessimistic one, but that is my impression, or at least, that was my impression, until I got to learn more about Representative Martin Romualdez of Leyte, who is currently the majority floor leader in the House of Representatives of Congress.
Although I have known Martin since 1985 during our days as students of the University of the Philippines College of Law and as fraternity brothers in the Upsilon Sigma Phi, there wasn’t much that I knew about him, other than his being a nephew of then President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, and a member of the famous Romualdez family of Leyte.
The 1986 EDSA Revolution interrupted Martin’s law studies and because of circumstances beyond his control, he had to leave for abroad. Those were, after all, extraordinarily volatile times. What happened next gave me my first real understanding of this fellow.
Less than a year into the euphoria of “people power” in the Philippines, when a strong anti-Marcos sentiment could be felt among those in power, Martin confided to some friends in Manila that he wanted to return home and continue his law studies, but his passport was cancelled by the vindictive administration of then President Corazon Aquino.
When a friend of ours told me about Martin’s plight, I sought the help of then Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Salvador “Doy” Laurel, who is also a member of our fraternity. Doy Laurel was more than glad to help, and so Martin was able to return home.
What impressed me with Martin’s request to go back home was his willingness to face up to a hostile political environment in the Philippines. Martin said he had nothing to fear as he was just an ordinary law student. For him, a law degree was necessary for a take at public office someday, and to show the world that, to borrow from the words of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “he had nothing to fear but fear itself.”
After finishing law school at UP and passing the Bar examinations, Martin was briefly engaged in the practice of law and was also preparing himself for public leadership. Martin’s initiation to elective public office came in 2013 when he was elected to the House.
In due time, Martin became a highly visible figure in the House, and, as I stated earlier, is the current majority floor leader of the chamber.
Fast forward to January 2021, when I joined Martin and a few of our common friends on a boat ride along Manila Bay. That small gathering was a chance to talk to Martin for almost an entire evening.
I learned that this person, whose political and financial status in life is something other powerful and wealthy people can only hope to approximate someday, was not the typical overbearing politician who hogs the limelight, but a soft-spoken, selfless person who did not hesitate to share his good fortune with others. He also considers himself fortunate that he is of service to the people, rather than one who needs the services of others.
Days later, when I checked Martin out in the House without his knowing it, I could readily notice the warm treatment everyone who saw him got from him. It didn’t matter if that person is a colleague in the House, a government official, an ordinary bureaucrat, a constituent, or a needy person. I saw first hand that assistance to the needy was only just a phone call from him to the right people.
For me, Martin is an exception to my general impression about people in high office. From all indications, Martin may be the leader this country will need after President Rodrigo Duterte bows out of office next year.
No wonder President Duterte is considering anointing Martin for vice president in 2022.
