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Bloggers document Alex Lacson for posterity, 25 Jan 2010 (krvilla.2010) |
The first time the idea of Alex Lacson running for the senate—entering politics, if you will—was floated to me last year was by his college friend, my cousin, who asked if I remembered him and what I thought of Alex running. I said in reply:
"I cringe at the thought of pushing him too close to the fire, so to speak, as we all know what the air of politics is made of...Since I knew Alex from college, too, I added:
..."[He is] good, intelligent but too honorable, in the true sense of the word, for elective positions that bespeak too much of bowing to patronage and power and pressure..."
"...and even then he struck me as one of the very few genuine gentlemen and upright guys in UP; candid but straightforward and very tempered..."12 Little Things
Alex Lacson took up PoliSci in UP. He was a member of the college-based student organization, the Association of Political Science Majors (UP APSM) from where he, my cousin and a few more of their batch, including Chiz Escudero (now senator), Ingrid Gorre (lawyer, women's rights and environmental activist), Emma Sarne (NY consul), I eventually came to know.
Alex was the quiet guy among that group, yet firm and gentle in his ways. It was usual that PoliSci majors were expected to pursue law school and from that group, too, came some of the very dedicated ones including Alex. Even back in the mid-80s, the tradition of UP in making each student aware of not just campus politics but of national politics made for some very exciting and colorful campus life. Alex — with my couin and Chiz, too — were not as visible nor as vocal as what the establishment branded 'left-leaning' students were in on-campus protest activities. Even as PoliSci majors, these guys were more inclined to spend their time with books or in discussion with friends than march to wherever the path of student activism led most students.
I had not seen nor heard from and about him for years except from stories and, later, mentions about the book he later came out with called "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country" which got positive feedback in the papers.
I finally saw him again at the prodding of my cousins in the last quarter of 2009 at a Tandang Sora barangy hall. This meeting would have been more than 20 years since I last saw him.
There, speaking in front of a mixed crowd of barangay civic organization members composed mostly of women from middle and lower-middle income communities, was Alex with the microphone addressing the crowd of more than a hundred, with a few more milling about—men and teenage boys, barangay tanods and officials, cops.
We arrived halfway through the event as he was talking about what Filipinos can achieve, look up to, reach for and expect if we just opened our minds to our potentials as a people and practice basic niceties and respect for each other.
The talk was followed by a series of Q&As, with one coming from a grade-schooler who asked what advise Alex could give students so they could nurture a love for learning (or something to that effect). It ended with a book signing and some photo-op with the attendees and book buyers. Quite a queue it was.
Alex was approachable even back in UP. The men and women who lined up at the book signing in Tandang Sora were each addressed by their names by Alex and were written down on the title page of the book, each copy personally dedicated by him.
Responsible citizenship
Bloggers' Night with Alex would be a more revealing night for all of us. The attendees were a mix of generations and vocations. The event was opened with an introduction by Jay Jaboneta, one of the main organizers of the night, a volunteer for Alex and a neighbor of his in the subdivision. Jay started by relating how much of Alex was a living testament to what Alex Lacson advocates, like simple courtesies to people (e.g. the subdivision guards) and giving way to fellow drivers within their subdivision.
But it was the Alex himself who, with the same gentleness and firmness—and directness—would give himself away so tellingly.
Alex is softspoken. He moves with contained energy but with authority. He has a ready, genuine smile for everyone.
He was born and grew up in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. He called himself a "Narra boy" along with some of his college buddies in attendance that evening: all residents of the Narra men's dorm in UP.
He is a self-made man, was a working student throughout his college life, and a scholar. He mentions without hesitation about his relatives back in Kabankalan: tricycle drivers, sari-sari store owners, ordinary folks, some of whom he helps send to school or help out in one way or other. Currently, he supports 10 more indigent scholars under of World Vision of which he is a member of the Board of Trustees.
He passed the bar and practiced for some time, then took up post-grad in the U.S. It was when he was abroad, he said, that he saw and experienced prejudice and discrimination. It was also then he saw how much potential each Filipino in the Philippines had but how little aware they were of their inherent skills and talents.
Alex may be too idealistic for comfort. Surely, nothing is wrong with being an idealist. Anyhow, idealists seem to make more effort at making things better than pessimists do.
In my view, Alex is also too real, upright and untarnished for a position in politics. Politics, for me, is a snake pit, an arena that has been been filled with filth and left in shambles by the very people who run it, and by supporters that are silent about deals that sell principles. It has been sullied by personalities who were voted into offices because of rubbed-off virtues, inherited names and mythicized persona. With Alex in politics, his straightforward manners and direct deals may well rub off on the other politicians who have all this time believed that to be valid, one has to be smart-talking, snide, attached to scandals and endorsed by celebrities.
Alex's advocacies are simple and doable.
"Condemn it."
When asked about his views on the Luisita Massacre issue during bloggers' night, Alex, a lawyer in the firm that lists the Luisita enterprises (Hacienda Luisita, Inc., Luisita Realty Corporation) among its clients, was silent for a few seconds, then slowly but firmly, clearly said "I would like them to condemn it. Let those who are guilty be charged."
It was our turn, the audience, to be speechless upon hearing this. The silence was soon followed by a spontaneous round of applause. Was his answer unexpected? Of course it was! Alex was seen on TV collecting peso coins from strangers for Noynoy Aquino's campaign after Mar Roxas' withdrawal to run for president at Club Filipino. Alex was among those who convinced Aquino to run after all.
Was Alex sincere in his answer? I believe the spontaneous applause, even coming from the gentleman from Mindanao who was relentless with his questions to Alex, left the event that evening more than just convinced.
Luisita is attached to Noynoy Aquino since declaring his candidacy and anyone closely associated with him, let alone his lawyer and friend, will surely be dodging the issue. This association notwithstanding, Alex always makes his thoughts known, thus he stands out of the crowd by himself, free of any shadows of doubt cast upon him.
When I had the chance to ask how, in the company of traditional politicians both in his own party and in the Senate (lest we forget the 12 hold-over senators from the previous election), he could make his plans and platform work without resorting to horse-trading and selling out, he replied (and I quote from memory),
"I am realistic and know that I only have 6 years to [see to it that my] plans are fulfilled. If it does not work out, them I go back [to what I had been doing]. I am not in it to [be there] forever..."By the end of the event, the usual book signing queue took place. Even the staff and crew of the local caterer fell in line behind the bloggers and other attendees. Though no celebrity he is, they, too, I'm sure, understood his programs well, identified with his story and were moved by Alex's vision of country with a respectful, responsible, "kapwa-tao"-driven citizenry.
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Alex Lacson hands over a signed copy of "12 Little Things" and a poster to the caterer's staff who stood in line at the end of the event. |
It is dificult to write about a person I know without being patronizing but because I mean this post to be an open endorsement of Alex Lacson for Senator, it already is.
Here is a genuine person, humble and responsible, and one who easily makes a connection with almost anyone—effortlessly—and who makes any campaign slate relevant, including Alex's own team of Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas. Without Alex in it, without him in the 2010 elections, everybody else's campaign is simply a rehash of the politics of old: the privileged, those with a distorted sense entitlement and the moneyed.
When given the chance and you do not know Alex Lacson yet, please make time to see him. Very much of what Alex Lacson lives by is a lesson that people born into politics should learn from. [~26 January 2010]
I'm actually glad Alex Lacson is not among the candidates in the major religious groups' endorsements. Why, the self-made man that he is can stand on his own merit, sans whistle-blowing antics and shady deals. It'll be a shame to not give him the opportunity to serve. [~09 May 2010]
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