Serge Osmeña Runs For The Senate With Wisdom And Acceptance

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Serge Osmeña lost the 2016 senatorial elections by a shakeup in the last mile before the polls, but he comes ready with a document that summarizes how and when he gleans he was cheated. The document shows the results of an SWS survey on May 3, 2016, which put him comfortably at 6th place in the winning circle of 12. Then another column shows how, all of a sudden, on election day, eight candidates are boosted, bringing him down to 11th place. He then shows another set of figures representing a second round of cheating, where further adjustments brought him down to 14th place.

He says this all matter-of-factly, in much the same way he says he is raring to run again in May. He looks young for his age (75), entering the room with surprising energy, and speaking with a kind of certainty, as if everything we speak of has already been carefully considered and accepted.

It is also the kind of wisdom that can only come from a politician who has seen things, who is used to winning and losing, giving and taking. But will wisdom be enough to win? At the time of the interview, Osmeña is lagging in the polls. But for every shade of acceptance or outright cynicism he paints, there is a hard shine of hope and optimism in his eyes—not just for himself, but perhaps for all of us.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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ESQUIRE: You speak matter-of-factly about cheating, and yet you’re running again.

SERGE OSMEÑA: I have to win by six points or more—otherwise, they’re just going to cheat me.

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ESQ: You’ve always run as an independent. You know it has its risks, right?

SO: There are no risks in running independent. Everybody in this country is independent. When you run with the party, what happens? This is just a ploy to see where everybody can come together under a special organ or special umbrella, but that’s not really a party.

ESQ: Do you think parties can achieve a critical mass that independent candidates can’t?

SO: No. Grace Poe is an independent. She’s topping the polls. Nancy Binay is independent. She’s up there.

ESQ: In other words, you don’t need a party.

SO: We have no party system here. Nagpapalit-palitan yan but it’s always the same person. You’re Liberal one day, you’re Hugpong the next day. And then when the Liberal Party gets elected in 2022, you’re Liberal again. But it’s the same guys! So there’s no use having a party system. The parties that you’re talking of are temporary aggrupations of people. But a real party? None.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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ESQ: If there’s no party system, then where does ideology lie?

SO: There’s no ideology in this country.

ESQ: But I know you have one. What is your ideology?

SO: My ideology is socialistic. It’s a blend of Social Democrat and Christian Democracy. It’s always been that way for the past 35 years. But I can’t make a go of it because issues are different here.

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ESQ: Where did you get this socialist bent?

SO: It happened naturally, when I was young. When I was 21, I told my mother—and my mother has a lot of land—I said, “Ma, land reform’s going to be good for this country.” She didn’t talk to me for one year! I felt that because so many people were poor, we should have land reform in our country. Her father had given her the land and so she said “never sell the land.” So she never sold the land—until she got land-reformed.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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"People don’t know what you’re doing in the Senate. But we still have to do our work. So we do our work."

ESQ: What is a favorite law of yours?

SO: I have 155 laws. You pick.

(He leaves the room and returns with a sheaf of papers—presumably every law he’s authored, co-authored, or sponsored in his career. He mentions a few that he is particularly proud of—The Retail Trade Liberalization Act, The Competition Act, National Health Insurance, Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, Early Childhood Care Development.)

ESQ: Did you have a particular law that you particularly consider a triumph?

SO: Andami!

ESQ: But people are going to vote for you on the basis of this—

SO: —No. People don’t know what you’re doing in the Senate. People don’t know. But we still have to do our work. So we do our work.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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ESQ: You zero in on these acts and laws that are obscure to the common Filipino. How much do you blame the voters?

SO: I blame the voter also—they keep on voting for the guys who don’t deserve to win.

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(I bring up a recent Rappler video shared widely across Facebook that featured a woman whose first reason for voting for Bong Revilla was for his looks—“kasigwaposiya.”)

SO: If the girl said she’s voting for Bong Revilla because he’s handsome, there’s nothing I can do about that! You just hope that some of them won’t vote accordingly.

ESQ: You’re handsome yourself, sir—but my point is: and yet, you have hope. In fact you have so much hope that you’re running again. What’s the equation in your mind? How do you save an election for the people?

SO: You can’t. You just hope that the people will see right, rather than see emotion. But I have no answer to that. How do you do it? I don’t know.

PHOTO: Jilson Tiu

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"If you don’t put good people in power, then you will never get anywhere—we will always be stumbling all the way to the finish line."

ESQ: What makes you want to run?

SO: I feel like I can be of service to this country. You need an economist in the Senate. If I lose, I lose. So what?

ESQ: How do you see our country faring, down the road?

SO: It all depends on the quality of the politicians the people put in power. It boils down to that. If you don’t put good people in power, then you will never get anywhere—we will always be stumbling all the way to the finish line.

There are many things we have to change about our investment laws here, but we can’t seem to do it. There are always certain people who will put a spanner in the works. But we have to try. And if we don’t get it done this year, we’ll get it done next year. And if we don’t get it done next year, we’ll get it done in the year after. That’s the best I can say about it.

ESQ: 25 years ago, you were probably a more optimistic politician than you are now.

SO: Yes.

ESQ: You’ve always been a hero against Marcos. And now, the Marcoses are back. My generation is also guilty of forgetting what happened, and we seem to forget that we’re also to blame for that. What do you think the regular person today should or can do?

SO: Educate himself. We have a long a way to go. We really have a long way to go.

ESQ: Are you optimistic about this long way?

SO: Yes!

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Serge Osmeña has authored 155 laws, including these:

1| Anti-Money Laundering Law

Mandated the formation of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which aims to preserve the integrity of bank accounts in the country, thus preventing the Philippines from becoming a money laundering country

2| Retail Trade Liberalization Act

Opened the retail industry to foreign investors in order to promote lower prices of goods and create more jobs

3| Rural Banks Act

Allowed foreign investments in rural banks in the country

5| Securities Regulations Code

Fleshed out the responsibilities and tasks of the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission in order to to protect investors

6| Electric Power Industry Reform Act

Encouraged the establishment of renewable energy and environmentally compatible infrastructure

7| The Competition Act

Mandated the formation of the Philippine Competition Commission, which is now considered as one of the region’s most advanced

8| The National Health Insurance Act of 1995

Became the basis of what is now known as the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation

9| Magna Carta for Disabled Persons

Promoted the inclusion of disabled persons in society, providing them with necessary health benefits and access to employment

10| Early Childhood Care Development

Established the Early Childhood Care Development Council, which is tasked to develop policies and programs for childcare

In this story: Produced by Clifford Olanday • Photographs by Jilson Tiu • Interview by Sarge Lacuesta

"You just hope that the people will see right, rather than see emotion."-Serge Osmeña, Senatorial Candidate

Serge Osmeña has authored 155 laws, including these: