On August 3rd, 2011 Senator Juan Miguel "Migs" Zubiri stood in front of his peers, and his family, and uttered words he had never imagined himself saying, "I resign." Zubiri had been Mindanao's "golden boy," a politician far beyond reproach and widely seen as Presidential materiel, how had it all come tumbling down, so fast, so hard?
When Zubiri ascended to the Lower House in 1998 nobody thought much of him. That year eighteen new Congressmen replaced close family members in what Filipinos euphamistically call "Seat Warming." A legislator reaching their term limit of 9 years simply has a son, brother, or even wife run in his or her stead and when the next election rolls around simply steps right back into his seat. In the West nepotism constitutes an ethical breech and can bar politician from office. Here in the Philippines it is seen as a moral virtue and is considered so run of the mill as to be hardly worth mentioning. Replacing his father, clan patriarch Jose Maria "Joe" Zubiri II, young Juan Miguel had no real hope of filling his father's shoes and yet "Migs" did that and a whole lot more.
1998 was a pivotal year in Philippine History. Not only was there a rash of young Seat Warmers pushing this new Congress into a generational shift but the 11th Congress was facing President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, action movie star turned corrupt demagouge. Estrada's under the table business dealings weren't unusual at all, the nation has never had a President who didn't try to enrich themselves and their family while in office. The operative difference with Erap was that he really didn't try to mask his embezzlement and rank thievery. Then, when he pushed the envelope a bit too much with his campaign for Charter Change, what essentialy amounts to a re-writing of the Philippine Constitution, things went south in a heartbeat. Known as "Cha Cha" in Philippine-speak, shorthand for "Charter Change," or more bluntly put, "Trashing the 1987 Constitution." Erap at least had the sense to try and re-package the attempt in a more palatable, Politically Correct manner. Calling it "Constitutional Correction for Development," or "CONCORD," he soothingly purred that it would correct major deficiencies in the then 11 year old Constitution in order to pave the way for Manila's Holy Grail, "Development."
Congressman Migs Zubiri quickly joined a bloc known as the "Genuine Opposition." As Zubiri's career ascended so did his personal life, dating a string of young Filipina starlets. Zubiri soon was labeled as one of the 11th Congress' "Spice Boys." Comprable to the American "Brat Pack" of Hollywood the Spice Boys were a group of "Seat Warmers" from Luzon, Zubiri becoming only one of two members from points south (the other being fellow Mindanowan Robert "Ace" Barbers). Featured in Manila Tabloids and youth oriented magazines the group was tagged as the next generation of Filipino power brokers.
Then, in 2001, came EDSA II, the largely non-violent coup that swept Erap out of the Presidential Palace and into a bungalow slash prison on the grounds of Fort Santo Domingo, a PNP SAF, or Philippine National Police Special Action Force (police commandos) facility in Laguna Province on Southern Luzon. His replacement, his Vice President, Gloria M.Arroyo had made a deal with the devil, I mean Armed Forces of the Philippines, and resolved to maintain a much lower profile while bleeding the state coffers dry. In the interim, as the drama in the Presidential Palace unfolded, Congressman Migs had shed his Spice Boy persona and latched onto a Reformist clique known as the Congressional Action Team, or "CAT." CAT cut across party and bloc lines in order to push through legislation seeking to implement small but important political reforms.
How did a man with such zeal, and much more importantly for the Philippines, such integrity, go bad? With President Arroyo in the hotseat Zubiri seized a great opportunity and became a cheerleader for the new administration. No longer a member of the Opposition Congressman Migs was now on the inside looking out. By the time the 2004 Election took place Zubiri was the proverbial insider with a direct line to the President. Undoubtedly egged on by his father and siblings, most of whom had entered the political arena as well, Zubiri found himself firmly entrenched in the highest levels of the "money hungry" Philippines political system.
Though it is unclear as of yet what role, if any, underhanded tricks and corruption played in getting him re-elected to Congress in 2004, by 2007 it was as plain as day that Zubiri was no different than any other Philippine politician on the national stage. Having reached his term limit that year, he allowed his father, by then Governor of their home province of Bukidnon, to stage manage his brother Jose Maria Zubiri III's campaign for Mig's Congressional seat (Bench Warming can also segue into another variant known as "Musical Chairs," where clan members retain the seat for the family as opposed to just one invidual as in Chair Warming). Migs instead concentrated on a run for the Senate.
The Philippine political system was modeled after the nation's last colonial master, the United States. Like America there is a bicameral legislature, the Congress and the Senate. However there are major differences with the Philippine version. Whereas in America Senators represent specific states and are only elected by residents of THOSE states, in the Philippines the nation's 24 Senators serve at large, meaning that they don't represent a specific province, or even a particular island. Instead Senators represent the entire nation and as such are elected by all Filipino voters.
Moreover, there are two tiers in the Senate and staggered terms. The 12 candidates receiving the highest numbers of votes serve 6 year terms while the 12 candidates receiving the next highest amount of votes merely serve three year terms. At the same time, both tiers are limited to two terms each as opposed to most other elected terms in the Philippines which serve under a limit of three terms (confused yet? it gets better!). The Senate is staggered so that only 12 candidates are ever up for election with the result being that there is never a Senate composed entirely of "freshmen." The rationale offered is that it allows for a more streamlined legislature where there is always a way in which to move legislation forward, et cetera. Of course the truth is that it is an entirely self serving gesture that allows fat cats to grow even fatter. IF the stated rationale were true why wouldn't we see it repeated in Congress? Hey, why not make Co-Presidents so that there is always someobody sitting in the Palace ready to lie to the Filipino People. Wait! There is ALWAYS a liar ready and waiting (the Presidential Staff is anything if not bloated) but I am sure you get my point. The reality is that each and every year a Senator receives P200 Million ($4 Million) to use as a personal kitty, or in Philippine-speak, a "pork barrel." This is in addition to committee funds, etc. Three extra years equals 12 Million US Dollars and so the truth is self evident.
In the 2007 Election Zubiri's closest competitor was the scion of another Mindanowan political dynasty. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, whose family claims to be from Cagayan del Oro City but maintains its base of power in Surigao del Sur Province in Mindanao's Region 13. Koko Pimemtal is another aspiring "Seat Warmer" but in truth the Pimentel Clan still owns a home in Cagayan del Oro yet has, in recent memory, never spent more than a day or two there in any given year. In fact, Koko can barely manage a simple sentence in Bisaya, as "Cebuano" the lingua franca for non-Muslim Mindanao is commonly referred to.
Still, Senatorial candidates rely on votes from all over the Philippines and with his powerful surname and the Philipine public's propensity (do I get extra points for alliteration?) of voting for recognisable names he remained a power to reckon with. As the votes were tallied Pimemtel showed a significant lead in key voting regions and provinces. Leading Congressman Migs substantially, noone expected any stunning suprises but then came the tally from Mindanao's Maguindanao Province.
Suddenly, in an almost entirely Muslim province, Migs was capturing majorities in the high 90th percentiles with 95.75% of the entire province. In the municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki Migs nailed 7,920 votes out of a total 7,939 for an highly improbable sharehold of 99.76%. In the town of Pandag it was the unheard of 100% with all of the town's 3,382 Senatorial votes going for the Ilonggo Congressman from Bukidnon Province's 3rd District. The totals from Maguindanao where Migs carried all 22 of the then 22 municipalities in the province allowed Juan Miguel "Migs" Zubiri to sail easily ahead like the tortise in Aesop's fable.
Many pundits, to put it nicely, weren't drawing analogies with ancient childrens' stories. Most recognised it for what it was, outright theft. As an insider Migs had been billed on the Arroyo Government's "Team Unity." Meanwhile, the Governor of Maguindanao Province was none other than the infamous Arroyo bagman, Andal Ampatuan Sr. The Ampatuan Clan that year directly controlled 18 of the province's 22 towns with the remaining 4 in the pocket via control exerted by the Ampatuan Clan over Maguindanao's Provincial Elections Officer, Lintang Bedol. As COMELEC, the national electoral authority's man in Maguindanao Bedol was the lynchpin in any real scheme to throw an election in that province.
As Migs was declared the winner and moved from the Lower House to the Upper House, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, and much more importantly his father and clan patriarch Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel II screamed bloody murder. Immediately filing a petition of complaint with SET, or the Senatorial Electoral Tribunal, he charged outright fraud and demanded a proper accounting for the provincial tallies in Maguindanao. Naturally Senator Migs responded in kind and even challenged the tallies from the National Capital Region, as Metro Manila is officialy referred to. This being the Philippines of course, neither petition went anywhere and Migs dug in his heels for the long haul, assured that at the very least he would serve out his full term and retain his seat until at least 2013.
Fast foward to November of 2009 and the seminal event in Modern Philippine History, so far as politics is concerned, and the "Maguindanao Massacre." Assuming that anyone reading such an in depth blog about the Philippine geopolitical landscape would already be very well versed in the tragic incident we can spin the wheel again and simply fast forward to late-June of 2011. The former Governor of the ARMM, or the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, was incarcerated in Camp Bagong-Diwa with many of his fellow clan members including his aforementioned father, Andal Ampatuan Sr. Finally breaking after 20 months in a maximum security prison cell Zaldy fought with his father and siblings and stunned the outside world by expressing his desire to turn States Witness against his own family.
When Zaldy was loudly rejected by Secretary Leila de Lima of the DOJ, or Department of Justice, and President Aquino considered the offer, Zaldy got impatient and went for broke. Alone in his new isolation cell he penned a two page missive in which he offered a scant outline of the 2007 Election Fraud in Maguindanao Province. Much more importantly, Zaldy directly linked former President Gloria M.Arroyo to the fraud, on behalf of her "Team Unity," via her husband Miguel "Mike" Arroyo Sr. Zaldy then had one of his wives, Bai Johaira, shop mimeographed copies of the outline to Manila area media outlets. Within hours of dispatching his still loyal wife the first of more than a dozen media outlets had arranged for a one on one interview with Zaldy.
Zaldy signed provisos with each media firm requiring them to sit on the interview for two weeks, until mid-July, and even then only allowing them to air the interview IF Zaldy assented. The goal was to hold the pending interviews over the Aquino Administration's head as Zaldy's attorneys scrambled to work out an advantageous deal with President Aquino in the hope that he might have wanted to shield allies who ALSO profited from the fraud in Maguindanao Province. The President refused to even consider such a politically dangerous offer and so one after another the Zaldy interviews began appearing on both TV and the radio in addition to reams of newspaper coverage. The allegations, or revelations depending upon one's perspective, created the predictable firestorm of controversy. To bolster his laundry list of scathing allegations Zaldy promised that he would be able to produce Lintang Bedol, the Maguindanao Provincial Elections Officer who had gone to heel after the 2007 Election appeared to be sliding into subpoena territory. He vowed that Bedol would corroborate all he had alleged with the added caveat of bringing physical evidence to the table, though Zaldy avoided getting too particular in THAT area.
Whereas Zaldy's offer to testify against his own family failed to garner him the shoulder rubbing back slapping validation the ex-Governor so badly needed, the two page hand written mimeographs managed to do the trick. Now Secretary de Lima was a whole lot less commital when asked about the possibility of flipping Zaldy for the Prosecution though she has never stopped qualifying it with, "but not in the Massacrre Case." With tongues moistened Zaldy's new found fans begged and cajoled him to fufil his promise of bringing Mr.Bedol out into the light of day. By the time Bedol surfaced at the end of July Senator Migs was no longer vowing to fight the "allegations" to his "last dying breath." Indeed, on July 31st Migs phoned Senate President, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and informally tendered his resignation knowing exactly when to fold and collect whatever chips remained. Both men agreed to have Zubiri formally resign on August 3rd and to do so via a speech in Session.
It took less than a week for Zubiri's resignation speech promise of fighting "allegations" of Electoral Fraud via SET to fall by the wayside. With less than 24 months remaining on the Senate term, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III would have to move fast to take his rightful place in the Senate. However, as long as Zubiri insisted on seeing his counter petition through, Aquilino's day would have to wait. Senate Bylaws stipulate that no prospective Senator may assume his seat until all outstanding charges against him are ajudicated. In Zubiri's own case the charges came AFTER his ascendancy to the Senate and so his position AS Senator remained unaffected by Pimentel's SET petition. Pimentel of course faced entirely different circumstances as an aspirant with an open petition against him. Zubiri sold his recall of his petition dearly, gaining Aquilino's word not to vigorously pursue any prospective administrative AND/OR criminal complaints against him.
While Mindanao, not least of all the Zubiri stronghold of Bukidnon Province were absolutely stunned by the rapid turn of events the people of Negros Occidental Province on the Central Philippine isle of Negros took it even more to heart. It was here on Negros, in the municipality of Kabankalan City that family patriarch Jose Maria "Joe" Zubiri II was born and raised. Scion of a landed family that had fallen on difficult times in the post-WWII Era, Joe Zubiri went to work managing the large sugar plantations dotting Negros. In the late-1960s a chance meeting led to a move to Mindanao and its northcentral province of Bukidnon. There Joe raised a family as he managed a vast sugar plantation for Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto. Despite the hold of the local political dynasty, the Fortich Clan, Joe threw his hat into the ring for the Congressional Election of 1984 and against all odds the political neophyte emerged successful and in a postion of power his own clan would retain until the present, 2011. Negros Occidental has remained the Zubiri Clan's second home and in the Senate Migs has showed the sugar industry with gads and gads of wonderful political largesse, that Filipino specialty, "Dirty Pork." Most importantly to the family Migs' resignation has done more to build the clan's cachet than any other single act in family history. As the saying goes, "all clouds have silver linings.zl
Meanwhile Koko Pimentel has taken the seat that many feel should have been rightfuly his all the while. More to the point he is now Chairing the Senate Committee on Electoral Reform and in conjunction with the Senate's feared Blue Ribbon Panel will naturally investigate electoral malfeasance though one does suspect 2007 will be handled with kid gloves. This not only because Koko gave his word to Migs but because despite the attention paid to Migs and Maguindanao Province, Electoral Fraud benefitted a whole range of Team Unity candidates, virtually all of whom remain in positions of power and influence today.
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