WASHINGTON DC, United States – Presidential front-runner Benigno Aquino III is exploring the possibility of residing at their family’s humble, high gated home on Times Street, Barangay West Triangle, Quezon City. He says he wants to be accessible to the people, which is why he wants to shun living in the Presidential Palace or at the stately Arlegui Guest House.

It’s not really important where he will live as President. What counts is if he can deliver on the promises he made during election season and the speed and tenacity of such delivery.

The residence of the Philippine President should not be an issue. If he resides in the Palace or in the Guest House, then good. If he chooses to reside on Times Street, no one can really stop him. He can live in an upscale condo unit or a penthouse for all I care. It’s the delivery of election promises that truly matters, not where he lives. Results, not residence.

Two months ago, while caught at the Newark airport in New York during the very disruptive European volcanic ash cloud, the Norwegian Prime Minister ran his country via an iPad. Of course, that was fleeting and temporary. But it demonstrates that a leader need not be at a specific location in order to push for meaningful progress and engineer reforms in a country.

Times Street

Times Street in Barangay West Triangle is a street I know. Though I’ve never lived on that particular street, my family used to live for a long time along the expansive stretch of Tomas Benitez Street–two streets away from the famous Times Street.

As a kid, I used to walk or bike to National Bookstore, the two nearby supermarkets, the former Wendy’s outlet, Kowloon restaurant for their siopao or siomai, or to the photocopying services beside Mercury Drug Store. I almost always passed by Times Street when walking or biking.

The Aquino residence along Times Street is not the largest one on the block. Neither can it be said to be the fanciest, the most attractive or the most attention grabbing. Well, probably it is the most visited among the houses in West Triangle but it remains very modest.

It is a bungalow caught in the middle of some large, multi-leveled mansions with enormous floor areas and large parking garages. When you see the Aquino residence, it doesn’t really look like the home of a national hero-Senator, a former President, a movie star and now a President-elect. Far from appearing simply middle class, it looks very upper middle class but still a far cry from the usual mansions and classy homes.

It’s hard to imagine that one of the most powerful political and economic families reside there.

Former president Joseph Estrada was ousted in part because of his very expensive taste in allegedly ill-gotten mansions that boast of wave-creating whirlpools. So for Aquino to consider living at their Times Street bungalow after winning the presidency is a humble act. It’s not too important but still somewhat of a statement.

Politicians’ Houses and Patronage

It has been a considerable number of years since I last lived in West Triangle Homes but I do remember that it has always been an area conducive for raising a family, attending church and building friendships. It’s a half-gated community. If looking from West Avenue, there’s a gate on the western side but no gate on the eastern side. It’s bisected by the un-gated Examiner Street. The Aquino residence is on the un-gated eastern side.

If Aquino pushes through with his plan to live there while President, the sense of community will be disrupted. Media and their vans with long antennas will be there round the clock. It will disturb the neighborhood, its calmness and solitude, and its sense of community. It’ll spawn unnecessary side businesses and may even affect real estate prices.

But the major disadvantage of a very famous bungalow along Times Street (with a President living there) is that it attracts and encourages patronage. Politicians, movie actors, benefactors, supporters and job seekers are now flocking (or flocking again) to the Times Street residence.

One disturbing facet of the political system is patronage. Once a candidate wins, he or she will be asked by the constituency to provide them monies to repair a house, for their children’s educational needs, for burial or baptismal expenses, or for emergency relief. They are asked to provide immediate jobs. The winning politicians serve as adoptive parents, godfathers, social welfare institution, generous donors, employers and charity group all rolled into one.

As a preeminent New Jersey-based Filipino radiologist has often told me, political patronage and the monies doled out by politicians to their constituents are like the unofficial Philippine versions of Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment and disability benefits, social security, insurance benefits, and health care. But with the caveat that the benefactors are also direct beneficiaries.

Because of this expected dependency and people always knocking on the door for financial help, politicians are compelled to allocate their pork barrels or other sources of government funds for these needs. They then pocket the excess; perhaps even the larger share and just distribute only a small percentage for people’s needs. Aquino seems to be the opposite type.

Politicians have very little recourse in these situations. Job seekers, favor seekers and people begging for assistance arrive early in the day, are unceasing by nature yet vindictive in approach. If you don’t help them in any way, they will not vote for you again. So politicians are coerced to help. It is kindness with strings. Very long strings.

The more people knock on politicians’ doors, the more money these politicians have to get from somewhere. The more these politicians give in to these extraordinary demands, the more that patronage is emphasized. The more political patronage and corruption in the cities and countryside, the more economically laggard the Philippines becomes in the Asian region.

Political patronage and large-scale corruption are two very evil aspects of the political culture. I am not really sure if another Aquino’s ascendancy to the presidency will reverse this culture. Neither am I that confident that this new Aquino presidency will encourage a counterculture focused on solid economic growth, creation of true jobs and prioritizing public school education. Nonetheless, this is his chance to prove his and his mother’s detractors wrong.

Another Aquino’s Chance for Change

It may not really be conviction that drove people to vote Aquino into the presidency. Perhaps it was more of compassion due to the recent death of his beloved mother. Maybe it was to thwart another term for the erstwhile actor-president or to prevent a win by the realtor-Senator. There are many reasons why millions elected him to office but not necessarily because of a very strong belief in his skills, experience, laws passed, unifying abilities or magnetic charisma.

Arguably, he has little of these. Many have always said he was elected simply because his famous and inspirational mother died last year. The speculation is that people voted for the “Aquino legacy”, not for “Noynoy Aquino” himself.

Even so, he was still elected by a sizeable percentage of the voters–defeating bigger than life personalities. He has gained a mandate that far surpasses the electoral victories of Fidel Ramos in 1992, Estrada in 1998, and Arroyo’s supposed victory in the Hello Garci-plagued 2004 poll.

It is Aquino’s chance, in concert with talented minds and a supportive populace, to change the course of Philippine history. It is his chance to redeem the dismal Cory Aquino presidency. It is his chance to fulfill the visions of his martyred father-Senator and to stymie corrupt patronage.

It is his chance to prove once and for all that an Aquino as President means progress, peace, across-the-board prosperity, democratization of wealth, and the gradual end to oligarchical rule.

Aquino faces very tough challenges ahead. The Philippines is not looked upon with much respect in Asia and the world. Moreover, the oligarchy rules business, controls politics either by themselves or through intermediaries, and stashes their wealth abroad. Little money is left to circulate in the country, incalculable resources are wasted on corruption, and everybody fends for himself.

The harsh reality is that people are grabbing every opportunity to leave and start a new life abroad. Whether it is initially scholarship opportunities that turn into employment, family migration that leads to more promising work, or just the sheer individual desire to seek greener pastures, many a Filipino is going abroad with no clear date of return. These Filipinos can’t be blamed. In some respects, the country is trapped in a poisonous well that can’t be cleaned.

These are but a few of the challenges that Aquino will face as President. These are serious challenges, some of which may not be overcome in six years or even by the president after him.

But if he indeed embodies the idealism of his father and the virtues of his mother, then it is his burden to rev up the engine of change during his term. He must understand, however, that the best people to guide and assist him are not those who are persistently presenting themselves for lucrative positions.

The very best people are generally those who are pursuing non-political careers, accomplished and confident, and typically unassuming. He should know where to seek them as they will not usually be presenting themselves or jockeying for positions like the others.

Who knows, this second Aquino administration might perform better than expected–whether he lives on Times Street or not.
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The author is a lawyer and writer based in Washington, DC. He went to the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton (Cert.Bus.), Kyushu, and UP. carlo.osi@gmail.com or http://look-to-the-east.blogspot.com.