Tito Guingona going strong at 87
Teofisto Guingona Jr., popularly called “Tito,” was born, he said, “with a bang!’, that is, on July 4, 1928, when Americans celebrated Independence Day. It was an “ironic and ominous date,” he said, because someday he would criticize the United States and Philippine policies that did not spell freedom. Turning 87 on Saturday, he still brims with idealism as he talks about the years he risked life and limb to fight for democracy in his own land.
Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, in the foreword to Tito’s book, Fighting for the Filipino, writes, few Filipinos have had a public career as distinguished as Tito. He had at one time or another held positions as Vice-President of the Philippines, twice a Senator, Executive Secretary, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Justice, Chair of the Commission on Audit, and Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.
“But those titles are not at all the ends but merely the means to win what may be Tito’s life’s battle,” writes Puno – “the fight for the freedom of the Filipino in its fullest sense. For him, the fight is his destiny.” Tito’s memoirs “serve as a front-row seat to the seminal events in the history of our republic where he invariably played an important role.”
What quickly comes to mind about this man is his brandishing in the Senate a one-page letter titled “I accuse!” which caused the unseating of a sitting president of the land. Then there are the images of his saying “No!” to the Philippine Constitution that had been drafted by followers of the dictator Marcos; “No!” to the extension of the US military bases, and his resignation as ambassador to China. One remembers the pictures on newspaper front pages of his being thrown to the pavement by a heavy volley of water directed at protest rallyists against the government, and stories about his incarcerations for being an anti-Marcos activist. All these actions sprang from his deep and sincere desire to winnow the truth from the false.
His story begins with his birth in Mindanao as one of eight children of a lawyer who became judge of the Court of First Instance of Misamis, the first Filipino to head the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, then as Director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, Governor of Agusan, then Senator for the 12th district of Mindanao, and finally, Commissioner for Mindanao and Sulu — all in all public service for more than 40 years.
World War II caused the loss of the family’s fortune. Tito, who had previously been taught by the Jesuits the fine arts of theater and debate, had to work himself through school at the Ateneo de Manila by teaching in several schools. At one intercollegiate affair, he was asked why he stood against parity, giving equal rights as Filipinos to US corporations and citizens when it meant development and economic benefits to the nation. His reply was a precursor of his nationalist posturing. “I replied by likening the case to a Philippine farmer with a home and several hectares to develop. Through self-reliance and needed support from the banks, I contended, he can adequately build the farm and the future. Instead, we allowed the American to get into his home and farm with equal economic rights. But that American, no matter how friendly, may not stay in the living room as guest but also go into the kitchen, into the bodega – perhaps even take over the master’s bedroom.”
Tito first ran for a congressional seat representing Agusan province; he lost, bested by lack of organization, logistics and at the final tally count. But his desire to make the poor improve their lives he put into play when President Diosdado Macapagal appointed him Director of the Board of the Mindanao Development Authority then governor of the Development Bank of the Philippines. He sponsored specific programs for agricultural loans, hotels in Mindanao to help boost tourism and outlays to spur industrial development, like giving financial assistance to the textile industry.
Tito ran, and won, as one of 320 delegates to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. He was the most inexperienced of the big guns running for convention president. There was politicking beyond Tito’s expectation; in the end, the Marcos-supported candidate, former Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia, won with 186 votes, and Guingona, 118. The night of the election, Manila Hotel, venue of the convention, was bombed, but no one was hurt. The bigger bombshell was when, on the third day after the convention election, Garcia had a fatal heart attack. A new president had to be elected; this time former President Diosdado Macapagal, Malacanang’s candidate, won.
Delegates who held their own views, not those of Malacanang, were arrested and jailed, along with newspapermen critical of the dictatorship. The convention continued without the presence of the detained delegates. A draft Constitution was finished, jailed delegates were brought to the convention hall to sign yes or no; a majority signed no. But the Charter was passed, anyway, and for ratification, a mock referendum was held among barangay leaders who were asked if they had had their lunch, and the show of hands was counted as yes, to the Charter.
EDSA I did not begin in February 1986, writes Tito. “It started in September of 1972, immediately after the proclamation of martial rule itself – when it imprisoned thousands without just cause, tortured and salvaged alleged rebels, when it imposed dictatorship upon the land.” Among the imprisoned icons was Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
The feeling of consternation opened the floodgates to the creation of concerned law groups — MABINI (which Tito joined), BONIFACIO, LABAN — and nationwide protest rallies. Tito and his wife and daughter Marie (now mayor of Gingoog City) were yanked out of rallies and incarcerated.
Elections were held, with Corazon Aquino and Doy Laurel as the Opposition’s candidates for president and vice president, respectively, but to the disbelief of many, they lost. A noise barrage was staged, with people banging on pots and pans, honking horns, setting off fireworks in protest of the election results. A few days later, the dictator was flown off to Hawaii in an American helicopter.
In 1987, Tito ran for the Senate, and became president pro tempore. One of his bills was on anti-political dynasty. His wife Ruth’s being mayor of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, and his son TJ’s being Bukidnon governor did not constitute violation of his bill, as they were not running in the same provinces.
He voted no to the retention of the US military bases. “We want friendship with America . . . We do not want terms that degrade our dignity as a people.”
Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was installed president after the ouster of President Joseph Estrada. GMA appointed Tito as her vice president, which choice Congress approved. In addition, Tito held the position of Secretary of Foreign Affairs. But the two leaders’ views were not in tandem. Tito wanted the Americans out, wanted government to resume steel production, wanted a banking system for Overseas Filipino workers – all for the benefit of Filipinos, especially the poor, but these were not listened to. GMA got him out of DFA, but put him in as ambassador to China. But the ‘’Hello Garci’’ incident and the ZTE scandal compelled Tito to quit the post.
Tito now plays tennis at a sports club. And speak his thoughts he will, when asked.
*** Email: dominitorrevillas@gmail.com