Susan’s Notes
By Susan Palmes Dennis
ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina—I watched the Fox News sponsored first Republican Primary Debate last week in Milwaukee and found it fun and interesting. It glued me to the screen but what struck me most during the event was the phrase ‘ professional politician’.
The phrase came from a young political candidate named Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old businessman and lawyer from Yale University. Vivek is said to be a millionaire after founding a pharmaceutical company called Roivant.
He coined the phrase during the debate likely in reference to his fellow seven Republican candidates who had no response to him. I forgot already the topic or question asked by Bret Baier or Martha MacCallum but the term stuck in my mind for some nights now.
The term is especially relevant in the Philippines which will hold its barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October this year. So is being a professional politician a good or bad thing?
There are so many people now trying their luck to serve the public by entering the political arena. Their reasons vary but some claim that they dreamed about being summoned by a Supreme Being and given a mandate to serve the poorest of the poor. Nothing wrong with that so long as they don’t go to the extreme and assume a messianic zeal or something about it.
**************
There are many level-headed people with sincere hearts to serve the community who see public service as something to give back to their fellow human beings. Examples include the late Trade Secretary Jose Concepcion who had no qualms about serving as a barangay captain in an admittedly posh village or barangay.
Then there are those who see public office as a career choice, as a means of livelihood so to speak. Again by itself there’s nothing wrong with that, that is earning your keep. And these ‘professional politicians’ for want of a better term have become so good at it that they were able to hold public office for the duration of their allotted terms under the Constitution.
So long as nothing illegal was committed, generally there’s no law prohibiting those unqualified from running for public office. In fact compared to standards abroad, Philippine requirements for candidates are quite minimal—you don’t even need a college degree to apply for candidacy to the presidency. Across the board, the requirements for candidacy are mercifully minimal to say the least.
What I don’t like aside from the ensuing corruption that results when one is blinded and consumed by the lure of power that comes with public office is the practice of incumbents passing on their positions to family members who gain an advantage when gunning for the same posts their elders have held on to for years.
It’s something akin to an inheritance that wasn’t theirs to begin with. Going back to Ramaswamy, what he said makes a lot of sense and appeals to those who are tired of having to deal with politicians who relied on their positions of power for their livelihood.
******************
That Ramaswamy’s wealth is self-made and not sourced from any dealings in public office lends a sheen of credibility to his statement. I’m reminded of a story about a political candidate who promised to build a bridge while on campaign on a certain area he campaigned in.
His attention was called by his assistant who reminded him that there is no river on that area where he planned to have a bridge built. Without batting an eyelash, he said he will build a river there. Is that the kind of politician who gets elected to public office in the Philippines? Sadly more often than not it’s true.
This phenomenon isn’t unique in the Philippines. Here in the US and abroad there are such creatures called professional politicians but their ranks are few and far between because the voters are reminded of their empty promises by a vigilant media, both mainstream and now social media.
Except in the Philippines, the sweet talking politicians now have their armies of trolls who are either professional public relations (PR) practitioners or who put professional PR experts to shame. Conventional wisdom dictates that politicians cannot be trusted to keep their promises yet research across numerous advanced democracies show the opposite.
Surprised? I was told about a comprehensive study of 20,000 campaign promises to policy linkage in 57 countries published in 2017. The Philippines was not mentioned. In that study it was found that in the UK about 85 percent of campaign promises made were kept. How the Britons keep track of these campaign pledges is quite interesting to find out.
It’s a wild idea but I propose then there should be sort of an apolitical department to be created by Congress comprised of people from the academia, civil society, the professionals, non-government organizations (NGOs), religious and youth sectors that will keep track on the campaign promises of the candidates and hold them accountable.
But this watchdog role is already being done by mainstream media and sadly not enough people are taking it seriously. But if only because he provided a point of valuable reference, I thank Vivek Ramaswamy for coining this term ‘professional politician.’ If anything, keeping the candidates turned elected public officials accountable will allow others to run and replace them.
…….
My sincerest condolences to the relatives, friends and immediate family of Milan Valdehuesa Dagus, member of Class ‘71 of Saint Mary’s High School, Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental.
Called ‘Dongdong’ by close friends, Milan succumbed to lung cancer and was sorrounded by family when he signed off.
Milan was a broadcaster through and through as he started in a different era when radio was a time teller, announcer and music player altogether. Rest easy Milan from your forever friends of SMHS ‘71.
####