SurveilOrder of the Rising Sun

On Nov. 3, the Government of Japan announced the conferment of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun on Senator Franklin Drilon and Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata, former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Philippines. This year, two out of the nine awardees are Filipinos, in recognition of their contributions to promoting friendly relations and developing economic cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. An honor indeed for our country.

Former Senate President Drilon was recognized for his “invaluable role in enhancing our economic relations by, among others, supporting the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) — which was signed by both governments in September 2006 and entered into force in December 2008” which have contributed to Japan’s status as one of the largest trade and investment partners of the Philippines today.

Senator Drilon was also recognized for nurturing the Philippines-Japan Parliamentarians Association (PJPA) since 1999. AS PJPA president, he “contributed significantly to deepening the friendship between the PJPA and its counterpart, the Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians Friendship League (JPPFL).”

Cesar Virata, respectfully and affectionately called “PM” (Prime Minister) by his former staff and colleagues, received the award for his contributions to the “reinforcement of economic relations between Japan and the Philippines through the ratification of the Philippines-Japan Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation and the promotion of the Philippines-Japan Tax Treaty.” Furthermore, he has forged Japan’s assistance towards the Philippines thereby deepening the cooperative bilateral relations between both countries. The Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Philippines Office for more than ten years, he has provided guidance in Japan’s policy and implementation.

My husband Romy and I had the privilege to be present during the conferment ceremony to former Prime Minister and Finance Secretary Cesar Virata last Nov. 24 at the Residence of the Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa.

PM’s acceptance speech encapsulated decades of dedication to improving the country’s economic structures during the Marcos Administration. Typical of PM, his talk was succinct and substantive, refreshing the memories of those of us who had worked for and with him. I could see former Finance Undersecretaries Victor Macalincag and Ernest Leung (who also served as Finance Secretary during the Ramos Presidency) nodding their heads, reminiscing in rapt attention.

My first job after graduating from the UP School of Economics was as researcher in the Planning Service of the Department of Finance. Vic Macalincag was the head of the Planning Service, at that time a small group with about a dozen staff. Vic, Rey Palmiery (much later a Director of the SSS), and Nitz Amatong (who later served as Monetary Board member) were my bosses. I have never worked for a more dedicated and knowledgeable group. Unfortunately, I realized early on that fiscal matters were not my cup of tea so I resigned after rendering my best contribution to the DoF — I introduced Romeo Bernardo to my bosses. (Romy served in the DoF over two decades, retiring as Undersecretary). I moved to development work.

The short time I had spent with the DoF gave me the opportunity to experience for myself the difficulties faced by taxmen who saw the need to support programs for economic development but were hindered by legislators. As PM recalled in his speech, the budget for 1970-1971 was only four billion pesos (3 billion for salaries and maintenance, and 1 billion for capital expenditures such as school buildings, rural roads, and irrigation. With a population of 36,000,000, per capita budget allocation was P110). PM said: “I also had to tackle the problem of low tax collection due to Congress’ resistance to passing unpopular tax measures.” Same problem today but with three times the population (now over a hundred million).

When President Marcos offered Cesar Virata the position of Secretary of Finance, PM (then Chair of the Board of Investments) said that he was “good at giving tax exemptions but not at collecting taxes.” PM was appointed anyway, serving for sixteen years when the average tenure of a Finance Secretary around the world was 2-3 years.

PM, an engineer with an MBA from Wharton, could have struck it rich in the private sector. However, he chose public service — first teaching at the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration (responsible for the creation of the UP School of Economics) then on to the Board of Investments and the Philippine National Bank.

Why would he choose public service? Let me share PM’s musing: “The end of the 2nd world war also saw the end of colonization. New nations were formed — independent but still burdened by economic structures, which made them heavily dependent on ‘Mother Country’ trading patterns. Economic restructuring, the formation of new groupings, the negotiations for international generalized preferences for developing countries, and the appeal for development assistance of 0.7% of GNP, brought about and new and aspiring development plans. These plans called for assistance in terms of soft loans, ODAs, and investments thus requiring both bilateral and multinational analyses.”

The challenge of serving his country in this most challenging role must have attracted both the engineer and the economist in Cesar Virata. As he said: “These interactions became primarily the mission and work of the Ministers of Finance of developing countries and their counterparts in either the Ministry of Finance or Foreign Affairs in developed countries.”

I can think of no other leader more deserving of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

Why do we who have had the privilege of working for and with Cesar Virata believe in him and admire him so much? I can only speak for myself. After my brief stint at the DoF, I continued to have interaction with PM since Romy became a trusted member of his staff. Thus, I had a ringside seat when PM dealt with crisis after crisis, particularly during those days when the Philippines situation under the late strongman Marcos deteriorated. I remember the financial crisis that hit the Philippines like typhoon Yolanda and the many meetings that PM and the late Central Bank Governor Jose “Jobo” Fernandez.

Why didn’t they resign, as the political turmoil reached fever pitch? PM must have known that he would face the ire and negative judgment of those who were not in the know.

Simply put, PM was — still is — a patriot who believed that the welfare of millions of Filipinos had to take the priority over any personal considerations. So did Jobo Fernandez. They worked until their last days in office, shoring up the economic foundation of the country. Removing Marcos from office may have seemed imminent but protecting the country’s economic structures had to be done so that the incoming government would not inherit a hole-ridden basket case. PM bore it all stoically.

PM being PM said that whatever he may have accomplished could not have been done without the support of his colleagues, that the award he had to share with them.

Today, according to PM, “the Philippines continues to face problems in meeting the needs of its people. The lack of infrastructure has reduced our productivity and competitiveness. Needless to say corruption and the lack of unity in defining national interests because of conflicting self interests have also added to our difficulties.”

May we be lucky enough to find another Cesar Virata in these turbulent times.

Amina Rasul is a democracy, peace and human rights advocate, president of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy.