The first thing that came to my mind when I learned about the appointments of the Abads in government positions is the saying: Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. This is an ancient wisdom that the Romans learned from the Greeks. Some say that this is wrongly attributed to Euripides, who is the last of the famous tragedians of classical Athens.
I grant, however, that this statement does not apply exactly to the Abads, the now famous family in the Philippine political landscape. It applies to all of us if we allow ourselves to be deluded by the logic behind the appointments of the Abads in government.
The Abads hail from Batanes. Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad is a former 4-term representative of Batanes, former agrarian reform secretary, former education secretary, a member of the Hyatt 10, general campaign manager of the Liberal Party in the May 2010 elections, holder of degrees in business management and law from Ateneo de Manila University, a lawyer, and holder of a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as a fellow of the Edward Mason Program in Public Policy and Management.
Henedina Razon Abad, wife of Mr. Abad, is starting a second term as representative of Batanes. She earned a degree in economics at Maryknoll (now Miriam) College, took up credits for a master’s degree in applied anthropology and sociology at Ateneo de Manila University, and completed a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Julia, daughter of the Abads, served as P-Noy’s chief of staff when he was senator, and now serves as chief of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications at Ateneo de Manila University, completed her masters in public policy as a Fulbright scholar at Harvard, served as program officer of the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium and as a consultant of the Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students, worked as a writer for Ayala Foundation and as an executive assistant of then Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, and is a former “citizen participation intern” of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute.
Julia’s brother, Luis, is Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima’s chief of staff. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University (2007), former president of Ateneo Sanggunian and the Union of Catholic Student Councils, and awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines
There is no doubt that the Abads have a high level of competence to perform their public functions. No one could question the integrity of the Abads. They are descendants of a family that opposed the Marcos dictatorship. And they have consistently fought the evils that made a mockery of governance in this country.
The Need for Delicadeza
Leonor Briones defines delicadeza as “behavior anchored on generally accepted moral standards”. For Ducky Paredes, the “closest translations” are “daintiness” or “tactfulness” -- words that are easily found in dictionaries. In the Philippines, Paredes says, delicadeza also means “sensibilidad” or “knowing what the right thing is and abiding by what is prudent, especially if, by choosing to be imprudent, one favors oneself”. He adds: “There is also a sense in our understanding of the word that the antonym of “delicadeza” is “kawalanghiyaan.”
Conrad de Quiros writes that the “essence of public service is to show delicadeza, fineness, a sense of propriety to not even want to get into public service if it will compromise your president”. He thinks that the “Tagalog puts it best: Mahiya-hiya ka naman”.
Delicadeza has something to do with the term discretion, which means the ability to make a responsible individual decision, choice or judgment by carefully considering all circumstances and possible consequences. Delicadeza, therefore, simply means exercising discretion. Such, exercise of discretion, needless to say, must be done carefully – a concept that I learned from a Spanish citizen working in the Philippines when I asked him for the closest equivalent in English of the Spanish concept.
But why should there be utmost care when one exercises discretion as a public official?
Republic Act No. 6713 or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees” that is authored by former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga, chairman emeritus of the Liberal Party of which Butch Abad serves as a vice president, provides, among others, that public officials should “uphold public interest over personal interest,” and “shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage”.
Now, Robert Klitgaard includes discretion in his famous formula on corruption: C = M + D – A or Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability. On the matter of discretion, Klitgaard says that systems can promote integrity by clarifying discretion. I beg to differ a little bit about Klitgaard’s view of discretion
My humble opinion is that discretion, per se, does not contribute to a corrupt action. In fact, the highest possible level of exercise of discretion is needed to control corruption. Corruption occurs partly due to poor discretion. When one fails to make a responsible decision, that means one has poor discretion. In relation to RA 6713, there is poor discretion when one fails to discourage “wrong perceptions” as regards one’s appointment to a public position. In relation to the case of the Abads, there is poor discretion when they fail to discourage “wrong perceptions” about the possibility that they might abuse their power by accepting three senior positions in the executive branch, not to mention the position that the lawmaker Abad will gain in the House of Representatives.
Abuse of power or authority, whether as a fact or as a possibility, is something that people, who adhere to the rule of law, abhor. The various ways by which the exercise of power is checked or limited are reflected in procedures, guidelines, rules and regulations that are in place in the three co-equal branches of government – legislative, executive, and the judiciary. The reason is simple: a human being is by nature good but has the tendency to do evil; hence, every conceivable way of preventing a person from committing evil should be done.
Going back to the Abads, they have “capabilities, qualification and integrity,” says President Benigno Aquino. And they have not been involved in any wrongdoing, he added.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda called the criticism against the Abads as “speculative.” He stressed: “They have not been tainted with any allegations of graft or corruption so it's all speculative.”
For her part, Representative Abad claims that they “have always advocated good governance, so people can look at how we perform”. She said: “in the end our performance would also speak for itself.”
The bottomline is this: human beings tend to commit evil. This potentiality should be prevented. This is the context why the historian and moralist John Emerich Edward Dalberg wrote a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
I have not received an education from Harvard University and Ateneo de Manila University but I can see clearly what is wrong with the Abads holding power in government: they might abuse power, they might be corrupted by power, and they might commit mistakes.
Mr. Aquino said he is not violating any law. I think he is misinformed. RA 6713 provides that public officials, among others, should “uphold public interest over personal interest,” and “shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage”.
Butch Abad said they are not actually wielding much power in government. Besides, he said: “We didn’t ask to be appointed.” I disagree. I think this is where delicadeza should apply. It is not good to create the impression that one is wielding so much power. And it is not good to create the impression that an appointment in government, no matter how questionable, is okay as long as one did not ask for it.
The intention of the Abads to serve the government, I must say, is laudable. No, the intention is not just laudable. The intention is noble. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions (with apologies to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).
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