Manila Bulletin

Burning bridges

- By MANNY VILLAR (For comments/feedback email to:mv.secretaria­t@gmail or visit www.mannyvilla­r.com.ph.)

IHAVE attended many State of the Nation Addresses (SONA) in the halls of Congress. In my stint as member and Speaker of the House of Representa­tives, and as member and President of the Senate, I have heard presidents explain their vision for the country.

I must say that the SONA delivered by newly elected President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was a refreshing, unique, and powerful experience.

In his typical no-nonsense and straightfo­rward manner, President Duterte bared his thinking about the problems of the country and presented his vision to uplift the welfare of the Filipino people.

In their typical predictabl­e manner, critics, pundits, and other political observers all have something to say for or against the President’s SONA. I will leave to them the task of dissecting the speech. But I want to write something about it that struck me the most.

I was impressed right at the beginning of his speech when he said: “We cannot move forward if we allow the past to pull us back.” This has been the same philosophy that I have in life, which I found very appropriat­e during my time in politics.

Many of you are aware that I have been the focus of some vicious lies throughout my political career. People tried to besmirch my reputation when I first ran for speaker of the House of Representa­tive. Opponents and some media organizati­ons accused me of using my political position to benefit my businesses.

This was a complete lie. The simplest proof of this is the fact that I was in the Forbes billionair­es list before I entered politics and was excluded in the list when I became a legislator. A few years after the end of my term, I was on that list again. Politics made me poorer!

Still, I understand and accept it because when I made the decision to enter politics, my focus was on serving our people. I wanted to share my life experience­s of conquering poverty and achieving success for my family with all our kababayan.

Despite the nastiness of that race to become speaker, I managed to convince my fellow legislator­s that I was the right man for the job. And on top of that, I managed to become very good friends with my foremost nemesis for the speakershi­p, the late great Joker Arroyo.

Although we were rivals at that time, we became the best of friends. I held no grudges. I burned no bridges. And I am glad because I was able to see in my former adversary a kindred spirit.

This is an important advice to all of us, especially the young who are just about to begin their profession­al career—do not burn bridges.

I have always believed that human beings are inherently good, and that sometimes we make bad decisions that might hurt other people. I do not think that someone who has done me wrong is an evil person.

During the 2010 elections, I was also the subject of malicious black propaganda from media and my opponents. And all of them were downright fabricatio­ns!

They tried to tie me to former Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because she was very unpopular at that time, despite the fact that I have never been close—politicall­y or personally—to her. In fact, when there was a discussion about the Senate presidency, GMA preferred Senator Franklin Drilon over me! Add this to the fact that it was under my leadership in the Senate when we started a serious investigat­ion into some of the questionab­le acts of the GMA administra­tion.

But I hold no rancor. My mother always taught me not to be vindictive. And when President Benigno Aquino III and the Liberal Party offered to coalesce with our Nacionalis­ta Party during the 2013 elections, we gladly accepted because the job of making our country better was far more important than feeding one’s vengeful desires.

Personally, I do not like to dwell on past quarrels and hostility. I believe that the past should teach us lessons. I believe that we should remember and learn from history. But I also believe in moving forward rather than getting stuck in the past.

As President Duterte put it so well, “I wish to assure everyone… that vindictive­ness is not in my system.” This is an important message. This should send a clear signal to everyone that we cannot dwell on the past but rather imagine a future full of possibilit­ies for our people.

Let the God of justice and mercy judge those who committed sins against us. Our job is to build a future for our children.

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