Senatorial Candidate Erin Tañada On The Fight For Social Justice And Worker's And Farmer's Rights

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Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, though from a family of politicians, hardly fits the stereotype. During our Esquire interview at his childhood home, the only people around are his wife, Ria, his parents, his son, and a nephew. No other staffers or assistants.

This is par for the course for a Tañada. Erin’s father, Bobby, led the “Magnificent 12,” who voted to reject a new US lease for the Subic Naval Base. Meeting him today, he jokes about his friend Al (Alzheimer’s) and being an old man who is dy(e)ing (his hair). He is kidding, of course, as Erin explains his father still regularly plays a mean game of tennis.

Erin’s grandfather was “the grand old man of Philippine politics,” Lorenzo Tañada. Though a well-respected senator and politician, the elder Tañada had no qualms leading rallies and taking to the streets during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Much like his father and grandfather, Erin exudes no pretension about the way he carries himself. Though certainly privileged, he is much like the Makati home he grew up in—modest and unassuming, but serves its purpose. His own career is just as storied as his predecessors: as an old-school tibak, a human rights lawyer, and a politician.

Now, Tañada seeks to run in the Senate and continue his family’s legacy.

Esquire: You’re a third-generation Tañada. Beyond that, who is Erin?

Erin Tañada: Erin Tañada is a passionate person who would like to look for answers to societal questions. It’s been a long journey.

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I started getting involved in national issues at a very young age, maybe because I came from a political family and was exposed to my grandfather's and my father’s work. That led me to search for answers to why injustice still happens in the country.

I was 15 when I attended my first rally. This was in 1978 during the Lakas ng Bayan campaign for Ninoy Aquino, for the first Interim Batasan elections, and my grandfather was the campaign manager. They came up with 21 names to challenge the administration slate headed by Imelda Marcos. Ninoy Aquino was in jail and Kris Aquino was around seven years old.

Senatorial candidate Erin Tañada with father and former senator Bobby Tañada at their family home in Makati.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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I started getting involved in national issues at a very young age, maybe because I came from a political family and was exposed to my grandfather's and my father’s work.

The campaign started in slum areas where no one would want to come out, and there was fear in the atmosphere. When the candidates would visit, the only ones who would listen were the relatives who were there, the drivers, and the other candidates. But as the campaign progressed, the 50 people would become a hundred people, and slowly become bigger.

My next recollection of everything was the next campaign in the 1981 Presidential election. The whole opposition decided not to participate so it would look more like a farce, so Marcos had to put up a candidate to run against himself. I remember the name, Alejo Santos, but of course, Marcos won.

I had just graduated high school then and was entering college. When I entered college, there were a lot of student organizations already slowly re-establishing themselves, because student organizations, councils, fraternities were all banned on declaration of martial law. So the students organized themselves and fought for the re-establishment of their organizations. I joined student organizations.

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ESQ: Which organizations?

ET: Student councils, student publications. Some schools, like Ateneo, were easier to form. Some schools, like UP, they had to be negotiated with the administration. At the time there was no student council in UP upon declaration of martial law, so there had to be an agreement between the Department of National Defense and the school administration, that student councils and administrations be allowed to operate again in campuses.

I started my own journey trying to understand the social conditions: talked to workers, slept in picket lines, talked to farmers. Actually, I was trying to understand why there has been really no change in their lives.

I became a student leader and I had a bigger role. I was a member of a student leaders’ forum with leaders from different universities, and we would try to fight the Department of Education before they would allow any increases—that we should find out where the increases are actually going. They should be going to the teachers, the facilities, and if ever there are going to be increases, the students should be a part of the decision making process.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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I'd like to look for answers to societal questions. It’s been a long journey.

Later on, I became the chairman of the National Union of Students in the Philippines. One of my heroes at the time was Edgar Jopson. He came from Ateneo, and I was a student at the Ateneo, so it’s interesting to understand his journey as a student leader. I was elected to assume the position that Edgar Jopson used to head.

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There was also my friend, who also played a role in my understanding of what’s happening around, outside of my grandfather and my father: Lean Alejandro of UP. What was tragic was that he died at a very young age. The day he was killed, we were supposed to meet each other, he had just finished his conference at the National Press Club, and he called me immediately and said, “We can already meet, so let’s meet each other at the headquarters of BAYAN (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan).”

ESQ: This was 1987, right?

ET: 1987. When I heard that he was killed, the BAYAN people told me not to proceed. They didn’t know what else may happen. I became chairman of NUSP in November 1987. Lean was killed September of 1987. I was elected in November, I was arrested January of ’88 while speaking in front of the U.S. Embassy. I was detained for more or less 12, 14 hours.

I went to law, because I want to put public service through law. It took me three attempts but I eventually made it. I put it as part of my speech when I speak in front of students about my dreams. It might not happen right away, but just continue dreaming, and eventually it will come true.

My nicest memory of all was informing my grandfather that I passed the bar... I immediately went to his residence. He was already 94 at the time and he had been undergoing dialysis three times a week, so he was not as active as he was anymore.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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The youth plays a very important role in shaping the discussion in Philippine society. They can be the catalyst for any discussion that they feel is important for their leaders to talk about.

The bar results came out the last week of April 1992. I went to his house, informed him that I passed the bar. He was so happy, and his smile was there, and he called my grandmother to open his drawer and get his envelope. Si lolo kasi, if you’re able to achieve certain things, he gives you a reward.

So sabi ko, bibigyan ako ng gantimpala ni lolo. Sabi ko, mukhang malaki 'to, makapal yung envelope e. So nagbilang siya, haba ng bilang. Later on I would realize na kaya pala makapal, at the time there were still 10 peso bills! It was three bundles of 10-peso bills, so it was 300 pesos. He was so happy counting the money. That’s why I can’t forget it, because a few weeks later he passed away.

So I continued being a lawyer like my grandfather and my father. I handled death penalty cases, I handled cases for farmers, workers, and I practiced for 12 years before I entered politics in 2004. Although in 2001, I tried, but I lost. I tried again in 2004 and eventually I won. I was able to serve for nine years, my first term as assistant majority leader, second term as chairman of the committee for human rights, and my last term, deputy speaker of the house.

After 2013, I was hoping to be appointed by the President to a position but I was not. I was also hoping that I would be included in the senatorial slate. Parang Miss Universe, umabot ako sa shortlist. Mahaba yung listahan. Umabot ako sa last 15 na candidates, kailangan tatlo yung matanggal. 'Di ako nakapasok sa 12.

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ESQ: You were chairman of NUSP and involved in youth organizations during your time. How do you feel about the youth’s current importance in politics?

ET: The youth still plays a very important role in shaping the discussion in Philippine society. Historically, they were the ones who started everything and they can actually be the catalyst for any discussion that they would feel is important for their leaders to talk about.

The only difference maybe is that they have a different way now of expressing themselves. It’s not the old kailangan mag-rally, kailangan martsa; although they do, but it would take a certain push or a certain issue to get them out. So, they express themselves in other ways, which we, who belong to a different generation of youth leaders, are trying to understand.

And this is a challenge to get the youth involved, especially in this time. Kaya, kung minsan e, hindi tulad noong panahon ko leading up to the '80s, kapag sasabihin mo issue at kailangan mag-martsa ang estudyante, makaka-mobilize ka ng limang libo, kunwari. Ngayon, pahirapan makahanap ng isang libo.

ESQ: But it’s still there?

ET: Nandoon pa rin naman. It’s there, but the issue has to be important. Kung alam nila na panahon nang tumaya, lalabas 'yan.

Hindi yung panahon namin. Imagine, when we were marching during Marcos, every week 'yan. And every week, you would get almost the same number of students. I think, maybe, some youth organizations today might have a difficult time doing that. Nandiyan pa naman, but not at the numbers that we’ve seen before.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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Stick to the core advocacies that you believe will uplift the lives of people. I think that belies the basic question of “Why are you running?” To help the majority of people.

It doesn’t say they’re not concerned, but there are other forms of protest that the youth now do. Hindi lang sa pagmamartsa, so ‘yon ang kailangang maintindhan rin ng mga regular organizations or leaders that were existing before. Kailangan matuto yung mga matatanda sa mga bata. Kaya mahalaga pa rin ang papel ng kabataan ngayon dahil sila ngayon ang puwede magsabi kung ano yung kiliti ngayon ng millennial.

What makes it more different also is now there are gadgets, and sometimes, expressing your outrage in the gadget is a form of protest. So, kung titingnan, tutol naman ako diyan, hindi na ako magmamartsa.

ESQ: But would you say that’s enough?

ET: Of course it’s not. That’s why the birth of gadgets may be changing the whole understanding on how youth protest is happening. Ngayon, lumalabas, dahil nakapag-post ka, ang tingin, maraming nakakabasa kung ano saloobin ko. It’s interesting how the youth organizers will have to understand and mobilize the youth.

Unless, of course, there are issues that really anger the youth; for example, the Marcos libingan. That actually showed the outrage of the youth. People were posting and they initiated their marches out of nowhere. So, you have to look at certain issues that would create that spark, and of course from there, how do you sustain the interest.

ESQ: You talk about the need for “principled politics” in Congress. How do you define “principled politics”?

ET: One, being consistent with your stands. Two, never give up on the advocacies you believe in, because it keeps people in position on their toes. Are they really addressing the issues that the people are calling out to the solved? Another thing is, don’t be afraid that there’s if there’s a change in the leadership of our country, that you should always be with the administration.

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Heto yung usapin para sa'kin kung ano yung ibig sabihin ng principled politics: Stick to the core advocacies that you believe will uplift the lives of people. I think that belies the basic question of “Why are you running?” To help the majority of people. You can be the spokesperson on issues that they feel are not being addressed.

ESQ: You call yourself the voice of the farmers and workers. Can we talk issues?

ET: Sure.

ESQ: Let’s talk farmers. Under the Duterte administration, there have been 178* farmers who have been slain, including the Sagay 9, and most recently, Sergio Atay from Surigao. How do we curb this violence?

ET: Well, there has to be an understanding by the government that these farmers just want to till the land. They want to escape poverty. Now, it seems that the government is not interested to uplift the lives of farmers. When I was congressman, I was the last congressman in Quezon who tried to avoid being given a military parade. Since the other congressmen had been given them already, they wanted to at least give that to “honor” me as deputy speaker. So I said, this is an opportunity to have a discussion with the leadership of the military in Quezon, so I agreed, and I talked with them.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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How do we stop these killings? Government has to understand that there’s nothing wrong with fighting for social justice in this country.

One of the problems I see is that there is complete red-tagging once a farmer is for agrarian reform. I was trying to appeal that most of the soldiers were children of farmers, and don’t you think that the parents of the soldiers are also in the same position as the other farmers asking for land, or asking for something to till to get out of poverty? And if you are going to immediately red-tag them, then you put to the lives of the parents of these soldiers in harm's way. It is the right of anyone to ask for agrarian reform.

Going back to how do we stop these killings, government has to understand that there’s nothing wrong with fighting for social justice in this country. Why kill them? If you believe that they belong to any subversive or any underground groups, then arrest them. Bring out the facts, and file the cases in court. There was an NDF consultant that was killed [last January 30].

(*This interview was conducted on February 1. Since then there have been more cases of violence against peasant leaders. The current number of farmers killed under the Duterte administration stands at over 180.)

ESQ: Randy Malayao.

ET: Yes. Again, he was supposed to be in possession of a JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees), a safe conduct pass, since the peace talks have not been totally terminated by the government, so those are live. So why kill people who have an understanding of famers’ issues and with safe conduct passes? So heto ‘yong problema.

Going back to problems of farmers, the problem is that government is only focused on production. Meet our production targets, the economic managers are happy, DA is happy, there’s a contribution to the gross domestic product. But the most important question that they fail to ask is whether the lives of farmers improved if they made those targets, and the general answer to that is no.

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If ever they earn it’s breakeven, because baon sa utang, and matagal nang baon sa utang ‘yan. Bakit hindi sinasagot ng gobyerno, paano natin tutulungan? We’re going to face a serious problem with regard to food security because our farmers are getting old; close to senior citizen age. You ask their children if they want to become farmers and they will say no. Why? Mahirap ang buhay, walang kinabukasan.

So, how do we address that? That should be the objective of government. How do we attract people to farm agricultural land? If we don’t do that, ang mangyayari sa atin, ang agricultural land natin ma-co-convert. That’s why it’s important that government look at ways in trying to attract the youth.

Ang overarching call ko ay trabaho. Trabaho sa kalunsuran. Trabaho sa kanayunan. Kung kaya nating maenganyo ang ating kabataan na bumalik sa pagtatanim, and, in order to do that, by guaranteeing a certain income to them, then people will go back to farm. That’s the easiest. You can’t wait for business to establish themselves there. Ang pinakamadali, kung kaya mo i-guarantee yung magsasaka na kung ano man itatanim niya, heto ang kita mo, at makita nila na maganda ang kita diyan.

The question is whether we have to subsidize, and people hate the word subsidy, but we have no choice. Subsidize the cost of fertilizer, if that’s a consideration that should be taken. I’m sure it will be met with resistance, but we have to bite the bullet. Food security is in danger. Our agricultural land is in danger.

We have to decide, are we going to be a Singapore where we’re just importing everything or are we still going to protect and fight for our agricultural sector? I believe we still have to because I believe our agricultural sector is our engine of growth. If we can develop it and harness it, that will later on spill over to farmers having money and build other industries.

ESQ: Going now to workers, last year, President Duterte talked about ending endo, but until now we still have cases of labor only contracting, and so on. What do you think happened?

ET: Well, there’s a law, and that law is still existing: The labor code and Herrera law, and those need to be amended. There has to be a realization that these laws are also being used to violate workers’ rights.

I’m not saying that any form of contractualization is bad. We know that the easiest example is janitorial services. So, ayun, puwede iyon. Ang mahirap dito, ‘yong iniikutan nila yung contractualization in such a way that alam naman natin na necessary and desirable para kumita ‘yong company, pero contractual pa rin ‘yong manggagawa, so kailangan higpitan iyan.

Pangalawa, there has to be a faster way in deciding cases. Kasi, sad to say, pero mayroon pa ring mga employer na ang sinasabi, “Kasuhan mo nalang kami.” In other words, pinapahaba nila ‘yong usapin, kasi alam nila na walang kakayahan ‘yong manggagawa na i-sustain yung kaso. Puwede umakyat all the way to the Supreme Court ‘yan e. At iyon ang nakakalungkot. These cases can go up to three years old; paano ‘yong manggagawa? So, the worker would rather settle than fight for what is his. That has to be reviewed also.

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PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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The issues have not changed. The people who are given the opportunity to serve need to realize that it is not the position, but it is the responsibility of trying to help the people that they’re supposed to serve.

I agree that endo has to be looked into, and has to be tightened, and I also agree that there really is some work that you can farm out. Of course, if there are employment agencies that really supply people, we have to make sure that all the workers they deploy are given the benefits they’re supposed to receive, and that they are also considered regular employees.

Mukhang hindi pa masyadong binibigyan ng pansin, although let us give credit to Secretary Bello in trying to confront the issue and asking these employers to regularize their employees. The process has started based on what the law states right now.

Ang kahinaan kasi natin, ‘yong inspection. Kung maganda ‘yong inspection group, they will be able to find all these companies that violate contractualization.

ESQ: Last question. If your grandfather were here, what do you think would he say about the current state of the country?

ET: Problems are the same. The issues have not changed. The people who are given the opportunity to serve need to realize that it is not the position, but it is the responsibility of trying to help the people that they’re supposed to serve.

I think basically that’s what my grandfather would say, kasi sabi nga niya, right after EDSA, it was in ’86, ’87. “Erin, even if President Cory is a dear friend, a family friend, we should not be afraid to call her out for what she did. We should not forget the core issues that we stood for.” That’s why he was very principled. His stance on the bases was very strong.

And we have to continue serving the majority of our people. It can’t just be a revolving door policy. There have to be clear policies that lift people from poverty. Kaya, ayokong tumalon sa kahit anong partido. I started with the Liberal Party, and I may not be able to convince other members on issues, but that’s democracy. But the core issues of the party remain. Before 2010, iyong original nandoon. After 2010, naiba. ‘Yong original, na side-track ng kaunti. After 2016, naitra na lang ulit ‘yong original. So we learn from our mistakes. Hopefully, those mistakes will not happen again.

What’s good is we’re still able to organize and people join. Natatanong ko,“Hindi ba kayo mga sira ulo, kasi sa lahat ng partido na gusto niyong samahan, e yung talagang yung dinedemonyo ng current administration?”

Sabi nila, “Hindi, gusto namin dito, kasi at least, nag-uumpisa muli ng bago yung partido. Wala na yung mga pulitiko, kaya may pagkakataon na yung mamamayan magkaroon ng boses sa partido na may kasaysayan.”

So that’s interesting. If you look at it, the Liberal Party is not afraid to be in the opposition. We soldier on.

In this story: Produced by Clifford Olanday • Photographs by Jilson Tiu • Interview by Justin Umali • Production assistant Pauline Macaraeg

"Stick to the core advocacies that you believe will uplift the lives of people."-Erin Tañada, Senatorial Candidate

Esquire: You’re a third-generation Tañada. Beyond that, who is Erin?

ESQ: Which organizations?

ESQ: This was 1987, right?

ESQ: You were chairman of NUSP and involved in youth organizations during your time. How do you feel about the youth’s current importance in politics?

ESQ: But it’s still there?

ESQ: But would you say that’s enough?

ESQ: You talk about the need for “principled politics” in Congress. How do you define “principled politics”?

ESQ: You call yourself the voice of the farmers and workers. Can we talk issues?

ESQ: Let’s talk farmers. Under the Duterte administration, there have been 178* farmers who have been slain, including the Sagay 9, and most recently, Sergio Atay from Surigao. How do we curb this violence?

ESQ: Randy Malayao.

ESQ: Going now to workers, last year, President Duterte talked about ending endo, but until now we still have cases of labor only contracting, and so on. What do you think happened?

ESQ: Last question. If your grandfather were here, what do you think would he say about the current state of the country?