(A TRIBUTE TO A FILIPINO LIBERAL: Delivered on June 28, 2010 at the Dusit Hotel, Makati during at tribute to Former Senate President and Liberal Party leader Jovito Salonga given by the Liberals in the Philippines on the occasion of his 90th birthday)

I would like to extend my warm welcome to all of you most especially to our international visitors from the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, the Liberal International and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

You come here during a most historic occasion. After more than a half a century, we will be inaugurating, two days from now, the next President of the Republic, the Executive Vice President of the Liberal Party, President Benigno S. Aquino III, or simply President Noynoy as he wants to be addressed.

Today, we are here to pay tribute to a man whose sacrifices and contributions to our country’s continuing struggle for freedom, justice and human rights, the rule of law and democracy, have no equal.

During the dark days of Martial Law and the creeping forces of tyranny that remained resilient even after the restoration of democracy, the Liberal Party has been in the forefront of democratic struggle. And during all these, we remained strong because of our singular pillar, our Jovito R. Salonga. With pride, I recall that it was Jovito R. Salonga who inducted me into the LP, whose membership at that time could fit into one Volkswagen.

In a society like the Philippines where the elite dominate the country’s social, political and economic life, Jovito Salonga is a rarity. He was born in poverty and worked his way through college and law school. He was incarcerated by the Japanese Imperial Army, and tortured in the presence of his father.

After the war,  Salonga finished his law degree, passed the bar and went to the United States for his masters in Harvard University and doctorate in law from Yale University.

His academic success was only matched by his political victories. Drawing support from the grassroots, many of whom were young people who felt disenfranchised because of the elitist nature of Philippine democracy, Ka Jovy, a man of humble beginnings, was elected as congressman of his native province of Rizal.

On August 21, 1971-a day of infamy not just for the Liberal Party but for the entire nation as well, Ka Jovy suffered some of most serious injuries when Plaza Miranda was bombed during the party’s campaign rally. To this day, Ka Jovy carries dozens of shrapnel in his body, and remains blind in one eye, and deaf in one ear. Ka Jovy topped the senatorial elections that year.

Together with fellow Liberals like Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas, Jovy Salonga opposed the declaration of Martial Law. He served as lawyer of various political detainees, both obscure and celebrated, until he himself became one. At one point, he was thrown in the same isolation room where Ninoy spent seven years of his life. Ka Jovy was now again imprisoned and humiliated, but this time, not by foreign invaders but by his fellow Filipinos.

In 1987, a year after Cory Aquino became president, Ka Jovy once again topped the senatorial race and was elected President of the Philippine Senate. This was not surprising. Ka Jovy was the embodiment of the statesman of the highest order who walked the august chambers of the Philippine Senate prior to the declaration of Martial Law: brilliant in mind, and eloquent in speech, whose actions and very life embodied the principles and ideals that they espoused.

And what makes it more amazing is how Ka Jovy survived despite the odds: his imprisonment and tortuous ordeal during the Second World War; the Plaza Miranda bombing that mutilated his body but not his spirit; and his imprisonment and political persecution during Martial Law.

Ka Jovy belongs to that greatest generation of Filipino statesmen.  At the same time, Ka Jovy belongs to no particular generation because his wisdom is timeless, and his ideals, ageless.

In 1991, despite tremendous pressure, Senate President Salonga and 11 other senators including Liberal Party’s Wigberto Tanada, Victor Ziga and Teofisto Guingona, voted against the ratification of the US bases. Many of us remember his immortal words spoken on September 16, 1991: “The need to maintain US bases in the Philippines explains why the US supported the corrupt, repressive Marcos dictatorship for 14 years…As long as the bases are here, our relations with the US will not be healthy or normal… The moment of truth has arrived…and we are writing a glorious chapter in our history…As a nation, our best years were when we took our destiny in our hands and faced the uncertain future with boldness and faith…Today, we have finally summoned the political will  to end 470 years of  foreign military presence here in the Philippines”

On a personal note, I was the executive secretary of President Cory Aquino at the height of the debate on the ratification of the RP-US bases agreement. President Cory Aquino, mother of our incoming president, sincerely believed that it was in the country’s interests to ratify the new bases agreement.

As President Cory Aquino’s Executive Secretary, the implementation of the campiagn to convince Senate President Salonga and the Senate to ratify the agreement fell on my lap. I remember walking under the rain with President Cory Aquino from Luneta to the Senate. Dripping wet, President Cory Aquino led pro-bases advocates in trying to convince Senate President Salonga and the senate to ratify the bases agreement. Of course, we failed. No power of the presidency could convince Jovy Salonga and the Senate to change their vote.

In my political career, this is one failure I cherish.

Can you imagine if we succeeded? Those damn bases would still be with us.

Just this morning, I was being interviewed by a Japanese newsman. Today the Japanese society is confronted by the question  on whether  or not to retain the US military bases in Okinawa, an issue that has already caused the collapse of one government.

He asked me: How was the Filipino people able to muster the political will to let go of the US bases in the Philippines. The answer was quite obvious; we had Jovito R. Salonga.

The decision of Ka Jovy took its toll when he run for President in 1992.  But Ka Jovy was proven right. The former US bases in the Philippines, in particularly Subic and Clark, are now thriving economic freeport zones and popular tourists destinations.

Here you can see his foresight—though politically costly, he believed that in the long term, there will be more benefits to a greater number of people if the military bases were used for civilian purposes. Ka Jovy is not a traditional politician who is preoccupied merely with electoral victories, he is a statesman of the highest order who has dedicated his heart, mind and soul for the benefit and welfare of Filipinos and generations of Filipinos to come.  As our Liberal Party campaign slogan for 2010 proudly hails, “Country above self!”

Even after retiring from politics, Ka Jovy remained the conscience of Philippine society. He formed the Kilosbayan or People’s Movement, a non-partisan, independent and ethics-oriented people’s organization that serves as a forum for increasing public awareness and participation in political issues and governance, and Bantay Katarungan,   or the Sentinel of Justice, formed for the purpose of reforming and modernizing the system of justice in the Philippines.

It is but proper that we give this tribute to the pillar of Philippine liberalism on this occasion, where we have the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, the oldest, biggest and most dynamic  grouping of political parties in Asia. Ka Jovy believed in strong political parties as vital and irreplaceable in any functioning democracy.

To a significant extent,  the story of Jovito Salonga mirrors  the history of our young nation and the history of the Liberal Party.  Jovito Salonga, the Liberal Party, and the 3rd Republic of the Philippines, with President Manuel Roxas at the helm, all rose from the ashes of war. Democratic gains were halted because of authoritarian and corrupt regimes. Now we witness once again the winds of hope and change with the ascent of Noynoy Aquino as the next president of our republic.

Through the highs and lows of our history—the voice of this man, though perhaps small in physical stature, was and continues to remain a formidable intellectual and moral presence. Whether in the chambers of the legislature or in the parliaments of the streets, whether from prison or while in exile, whether as the third highest official of the land or as an academic or as a leader of civil society, when ka Jovy Salonga speaks, we listen. We listen because it is the voice of wisdom tempered by experience; it is the voice of idealism that crosses generations. Ignore Ka Jovy and you deprive yourself from the privilege of his wise counsel that is bereft of any motive or ill will.  Engage him and your life becomes fuller, richer and nobler.

What if Gloria Arroyo gave serious thought to Ka Jovy who said during the fateful day in September 1991 when Filipinos decided to get rid of the US bases and regain its pride:  “In the end we live with our conscience, everyone of us. None of us can escape the judgment of history.”

Now that we in the Liberal Party have been given the privilege to serve the people, let the wisdom of Ka Jovy continue to guide us. We must live with our conscience and be ready to die with our integrity intact.

Otherwise, we face the condemnation of our people’s collective memory.

The Liberal Party of the Philippines, now the party in power after more than half a century, is tasked not only with making our party stronger, but also in initiating the necessary political and electoral reforms needed to strengthen the vital institutions that make democracy work and sustainable.

And with the victory of Noynoy and the legacy of Ka Jovy, we Liberals are on the right track.

Mabuhay! Maraming salamat po!