My
sympathy goes with Diana Apigo-Tayag and Eleonor Barrera-Fajardo, the two
neophyte women provincial legislators of Second District of Occidental Mindoro
for they, at first glance, may have been victims of the so-called tyranny of the majority. That
is if what I’ve just heard from the grapevine is true. If they were amazons, it was their first exposure to combat.
Seemingly,
each member of the Provincial Board will chair committee except for the two
first-timer and minority SP members Tayag and Fajardo of San Jose and
Magsaysay, respectively. Without a committee to chair in their own, their hands
are handcuffed and their power and authority have been clipped therefore they
cannot move as free as they like. They will just become a second-class citizen
in the august body. H0w could change and unity be harmonized this way? With this,
the “politics is just one day” rhetoric is just what it is - rhetoric. But one has to move on.
The
general criteria of what a committee for a legislator to chair are normally or
usually given according to his or her capacity and advocacy. Unaware of the
SP’s Internal Rules, I think the legislative body has a lot of explaining why
Tayag and Fajardo, an accountant and a doctor of medicine respectively, did not
get any chairmanship. Is “equity of the incumbent” becomes the rule of the
thumb when they decided for such leadership in committees? Is there another newbie
who got a chairmanship?
Well,
the phrase “tyranny of the majority” was first coined by French historian and
political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville and memorialized by John Stuart Mill. A
tyranny of the majority occurs when a majority takes action to thoroughly
subjugate the minority.
I
expect that in their Internal Rule, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan emphasized the
balance of majority rule and minority rights. True, the will of the majority
must in all cases must prevail and for that will to be rightful must be
reasonable and must possess equal rights that the law or rule must protect, as US President Thomas
Jefferson expressed it in 1801 in his First Inaugural Address.
Majority
rule must be limited in order to protect minority rights, because if it were
unchecked it probably be used to oppress persons holding unpopular views.
I expect that this tenet is part of the SP’s existing internal rule.
I
think Tayag and Fajardo are now automatically members of major committees. They are not after the perks relative to the
chairmanship I am sure. What is important is they can still draft ordinances
and resolutions, have salaries and budgets for their staffs and can still render speeches and other
functions as legislators, both oversight and otherwise. And the general fullfilment of their campaign promise.
One
does not need a committee to perform well in the Sanggunian and come up with
good resolutions and ordinances. Besides, such are one of the ugly faces of
politicking. Time will come a Sangguniang Bayan is up through an election and
become a part of the new majority and ultimately chairing a committee of his or
her choice. In the next election, s/he may still be elected but will not have
the number and stay in the minority, maliban
na lang kung siya ay babaliktad.
To
be frank about it, at least to me, committee chairmanships are not a matter of
life and death. Charge that to experience. Kung
ayaw nila, wag nila. At any rate, Tayag and Fajardo could always chair the
“committee” of genuine commitment and exemplary performance. They just showed what they are made of.
Baptisms,
of water or by fire, always result to purification…
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(Photo: SP OCM)
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