Thursday, October 18, 2012

Teo "The Fist" Guingona: Presidential Picks Round 6

Opportunity is where the courageous find a name for themselves.

Teofisto de Lara Guingona III carries the nickname "TG". That is for marketing purposes. He probably does not like sounding like a Mafia family godfather, or the manufacturer of fancy red sports cars. Those Italianos, they like their nicknames. On the island of Sicily, TG would likely be called  Teo "The Fist" Guingona.  Senator Guingona is from the island of Mindanao.

Teo "The Fist" Guingona is about as brutal as a puff of cotton. "Mr. Bean" is the handle an amused and amusing blogger assigned to him.

But I like that name, for a fist is what he gave the Cybercrime Law. A huge constitutional fist in the legal solar plexus. On the strength and courage of his "No!" vote, he emerged as a principled national leader. Not a follower. He emerged as the ONLY principled leader in the Senate. The rest of the bunch toed the tight line of Executive Wish, thereby conveying to the Department of Justice totalitarian laws not seen since the Arroyo Martial Law proclamations and the endless Marcos dictates.

Teo "The Fist" Guingona is one of the good guys. An honoree of Kaya Natin! as a champion of good governance representing Mindanao and Sulu. Kaya Natin! was founded by a small group of highly respected leaders like Jesse Robredo and Grace Padaca. If they call you a "Champion", you are good. Honest. Trustworthy.

If you have a good guy with the courage to stick by his principles when everyone else is going the opposite direction, aligned with favor and a political lemming mentality, that principled, courageous guy warrants attention.

Here's Teo "The Fist" Guingona:

  • Born April 19, 1959, he will be 57 in 2016, when presidential elections are held.

  • Ateneo de Manila graduate. Degrees in Economics and Law.
    • Member of student government. Joined protests against Marcos in favor of Ninoy Aquino's LABAN party. Jailed after a protest march.

  • Elected to House of Representatives from Bukidnon 2nd District in 2004 and 2007.
    • Deputy Minority Floor Leader.
    • Minority Representative to Joint Congressional Power Commission.
    • Involved in impeachment complaints against President Arroyo and Ombudsman Gutierrez.
    • Exposed Fertilizer Fund Scam and excessive Arroyo travel expenses.
    • Voted against resolution for Constituent Assembly without the Senate (Con-Ass).

  • Elected Senator in 2010, placing 12th among 12 candidates.
    • Platform
      • Good Governance
      • Financial Reform
      • Mindanao Improvement
    • Committee Chairmanship:
      • Accountability of Public Officers & Investigations (Blue Ribbon)
      • Peace, Unification and Reconciliation
      • Congressional Oversight Committee on the Anti-Money Laundering Act
    • Committee Vice-Chairmanship:
      • Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies
      • Energy
      • Government Corporations and Public Enterprise
      • Health and Demography
      • Justice and Human Rights
      • Joint Congressional Power Commission
    • Committee Membership:
      • Agrarian Reform
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Education Arts and Culture
      • Environment and Natural Resources
      • Finance
      • Foreign Relations
      • Labor Employment and Human Resources Development
      • Congressional Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance Law
      • Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Overseas Voting Act of 2003
      • Legislative Oversight Committee on Public Expenditure
      • National Defense and Security
      • Public Services
      • Social Justice Welfare and Rural Development
      • Ways and Means
    • Bills Filed:
      • SBN 158: Right to Information
      • SBN 159: Petroleum Products
      • SBN 2180-2186: Budget/GAA

  • Father Teofisto Tayko Guingona, Jr., served as Senator from 1998 to 2001 and Vice Pesident under President Gloria Arroyo from 2001 to 2004. His grandfather was a former assemblyman, senator, judge, and commissioner of Mindanao and Sulu during the American years in the 1930's. His mother, Ruth de Lara, is former governor of Misamis Oriental and is now mayor of Gingoog City.

  • He is married to attorney Ma. Victoria Guingona, a classmate at Ateneo. They have one son.

Joe's Assessment

The three essential Rizal Robredo Index leadership qualities are: (1) intelligence, (2) character, and (3) capability, where capability is reflected in: (a) skills and (b) productivity.

Senator Guingona is the new breed of congressman arriving to voice a progressive mandate for honesty and above-board dealings. He is not a hot-head like Trillanes. He is thoughtful and principled. He is a good guy as Robredo was a good guy.

He has just introduced a new bill in the legislature called "The Crowdsourcing Act of 2012" (Senate Bill 3300). This Act recognizes the gap that exists today between legislators, who favor those who favor them, and the People, who are cut out of a clear representation on things by Congressional self-interest and by popular media that focus on the sensational. The proposed law would require that the Senate and House make available copies of bills and allow people to comment on them through e-mail and the internet. Here's what Teo "The Fist" had to say about the proposal:

  • "Crowdsourcing recognizes and allows the individual and collective power of the people, with the use of the internet and/or other information and communications system, to contribute to the formulation, improvement, and creation of laws that benefit the entire nation. From Batanes to Sulu, people must be allowed to participate in the process of law-making. When people are allowed to participate, we have better laws. When people are allowed to participate, we have better people,."

This is a man of original wisdom. He need not photocopy ideas. He has a strikingly different vision of what the Philippines should be than most. He takes President Aquino's good governance to a new dimension, a modern dimension. A people's dimension.

He has the quality and depth of thinking of leaders like Jefferson and Rizal and Robredo.

The Senator also represents a hope that the Senate can be a driving force for implementation of the Bangsamoro road map to everlasting peace in the Philippines. If anybody can get this done, Teo "The Fist" can. There are those who should lead, those who should follow, and those who should get out of the way. Senator Guingona is one who should lead. Old senators carrying too much baggage, like Enrile and Sotto and Angara, should get out of the way.

Teo "The Fist" Guingona.

Character. Problem solving. Innovation. Intelligence. Courage. Sound experience in the House and Senate, learning the ropes until now.

Now moving into leadership.

JoeAm likes this kind of character, especially the courage and independent thought. And above all, his deeply held, determined principles.

Accordingly, he moves Teo "The Fist" Guingona into second place on his list of top presidential candidates. Holding the lead is Jun Abaya. Ranking third is Sonny Angara, the Young. Falling off the list is Kiko Pangilinan.

Joe's 2016 Presidential picks, for the good of the Philippines:

  1. Jun Abaya
  2. Teo "The Fist" Guingona
  3. Sonny Angara, the Younger

14 comments:

  1. 1. I make it a point to watch videos of candidates to see how they come across. Accordingly, I have viewed TG’s speeches in his explanation of his impeachment vote against Gloria. The Senator’s style is bombastic rather than conversational; it is a style Pinoys are used to. What is worthy of comment is that the speeches show how principled the man is, condemning a sitting president in no uncertain terms.

    2. I like his characterization as Mr Bean by a blogger. I believe the resemblance is in the heavy eyebrows and the shape of the nose. This likeness might make him endearing to voters. Who knows? People have won office for feebler reasons. If unprincipled Erap could be elected to the presidency in spite of, or rather because of, the jokes on him, could not principled TG’s likeness translate to the likelihood of a higher office?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And the ears. Don't forget the ears.

      Interesting, that bombastic style. I've not seen him speak, actually. Bombast goes nicely with "Fist". The other bombast I am aware of is Senator Santiago. Maybe Senator Enrile in a quieter way, if a bombast can have a style of quiet. Pontificatorial. heh Still, I think the man is interested in listening, too, so it is not purely one-way. And the ocntent beneath the style is of high quality.

      The Mr. Bean quality is unlikely to harm, more likely to endear.

      Delete
    2. ha, dyslexia rules. ocntent = content

      Delete
    3. Haha! How could I have missed those protuberances?! Sign of a good listener? Perhaps we should make physiognomic attributes part of the criteria for candidates. Does so-and-so have senatorial ears, you think?

      Delete
    4. Yes, physiognimic attributes, and the ability to spell it. And a properly bombastic fist, wielded for righteous causes.

      Delete
  2. Would that TG doesn't get infected with the virus of realpolitik.

    DocB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think his immune system is strong.

      It's interesting, though, this "realolitik". Define it for me. Is that the corruption necessary to wind friends and influence votes, or what? President Aquino got elected outside the world of realpolitik I think. Compromising is not corrupt, if it is the way to achieve gains. The question on the RH Bill is how much compromise can you accept and still have any substance left.

      Delete
    2. It is usually the hangers-on, relatives, bodyguards that will likely corrupt by associative name-droppings.

      Delete
  3. Realpolitik for me is a critical political and policy decision taken in favor of the powerful and the moneyed at the expense of the powerless and the poor and voiceless. Think of the Recto Commitee Report. Where I see as a no-brainer like FOI a politician who's so infected would see as an impediment, afraid of ruffling the feathers of lobbyists and power blocs. President Magsaysay by way of example may be the example of someone uninfected.

    DocB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, yes. Those who place personal gain over integrity. Got it. I don't think Guingona is that way. I think compromise is a legitimate tool to find a way forward when different interests are engaged on an issue. RH is a classic example. Realpolitik gets outside the realm of problem-solving, however.

      Guingona did not compromise on the Cybercrime legislation when everyone else was willing to sell constitutional protections down the river. He kept his integrity.

      If he ever went to the dark side, it would be a miserable day, indeed.

      Thanks for the explanation.

      Delete
  4. Goot pick. What brings them down will be the 99.9999% of "brilliant" Filipinos. These trio will have to come down from Malacanang to pull-over wang-wangeros which to this day I still see wang-wangers down the street and nobody is arresting them.

    Of course, those wang-wangers are wealthy, powerful and got the right synaptic connections. No PMAyer in their right mind would pull them over. If they did, they'd be directing pumpboat traffic in the lonely outpost in the Spratleys.

    Considering Puno, Soto and the 188 non-reading rubber-stamp congressmen, IT WILL STILL BE A LONG WAY TO GO. DEFINITELY NOT IN MY LIFETIME.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And do not write-off Manny Pacquiao whose congressional presence is in the boxing gym to make Filipinos proud again and inspire them to hire white lawyers against Maywether instead of Berkeley Filipino-American lawyers ... and coming next in your favorite channel will be Vice-governor Jinkee and congressman brother-of-Manny Pacquiao. I just wonder what Aling Dionisia's political plan.

      Let us pray, "Amahan ninjo, ana-a sa langit, daygon ang iyang pangalan, dinhi so yuta paingon sa langit ..."

      Delete
    2. 1) Maybe I should put on the assistant financial guy who, upon looking at how Davao City burns through the expenses for vehicle maintenance for all the private driving of public cars, exclaimed in frustration "face it, we are a corrupt country!"

      2) Manny, upon being sued by his wife for divorce, turned to the bible, gave away his chicken ranch, sold his casino, and saved his marriage. He has potential. But Coach Roach would make the best president I think. White guy though.

      Delete
  5. ... and I forgot Mrs. Lapid the wife of SEnator Lapid, she, too hired white American Lawyer for importing $50,000 American ... and the ex-beauty, again, hired white american lawyer ... and when you talk to them, they always say "Matindi atska bright ang mga Filipinos" and they do not even tap them as simple as filling up immigration petition forms which they prefer Garfunkel to DUI-of-God.

    ReplyDelete

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