‘We need to make Vico, today’s odd man out, the rule and not the exception.’
FOR the longest time, I haven’t seen anything like him. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I grew up with many idealists who vowed to change the world once given a chance. And yes, they were given a chance. But did they change the world? Nope. It was they who changed, they who lost every ounce of idealism to be replaced by opportunism, “balimbing-ism” and not only self-promotion but self-enrichment.
Oh, and how rich have they become, showing that they never have enough; they want more. And having more is easy because when you’re up there in the rarified air of national politicians, wheeling and dealing is the norm when you’re “in,” and when you’re “out” and a loser you spout moralistic objections but are never brave enough to poison the well from whence everyone draws.
Oh, I’ve seen them come and go, and frankly, I just have a hard time staring them in the eye these days, for fear of what I will see. And for fear of what they will see in my facial expression. A smile of derision, perhaps?
Decades ago, it was easy for me to rail against the corrupt politicians who were leading the country down the path to ruin because those men and women were from a different, much older generation. Ours would’ve been different, I told myself, smug in that belief.
Today? I am numbed to think that men and women I thought I knew are now strangers to me. And the less I engage with them, the better for me. But it’s an escape because I’d rather disengage than confront. I can survive despite them, which unfortunately cannot be said of tens of millions of others.
And then this odd one appears.
The fact that we can only produce one Vico Sotto is the biggest indictment of our political culture. Talk about endangered species.
To be fair, there are a couple of other local government leaders who can be lumped with Vico, though he stands head and shoulders taller. The mayor of Quezon City is one in my book. I am sure others would opine that the newly elected mayor of Naga is one and the re-elected mayor of Baguio is another. Assuming all three are indeed Vico-like, that’s four? And only two in Metro Manila, which has 17 component LGU units.
I am also sure some governors are Vico-like, but the young ones still need to prove themselves. Congressmen? Maybe a handful as well. Senators? Well, I guess you can scatter all our public officials along a spectrum from decent to disgusting, overlaid by the criteria of idiotic to capable. And yes, there are disgusting idiots in office. And we put them there.
But Vico is the odd man out. Is he the “last of the Mohicans” or the first of his kind? Whatever the answer, I envy Pasig and wish every town and city electorate would have the great good fortune of finding a Vico to lead.
We need to make Vico, today’s odd man out, the rule and not the exception.
