[OPINION] Insufferable arrogance

When we went out to get vaccinated, we noticed that the number of permanently closed shops in our area had risen. A few had staff standing outside, pleadingly looking at anyone to buy something, anything. We bought from them as many as we could and went home with bread and cupcakes to distribute. Days later, I found myself consoling a close colleague who just lost her father to COVID. “We will see light once again,” I offered. “We will, John,” she answered. “Hopefully with a new leader.” I was surprised by her parting words. Politics usually does not attend grief. And yet there it was – the straight line of responsibility for all this death and suffering pointing to one direction.

Unfortunately, the ones most responsible appear to be the least discomfited. This week a typhoon caused floods in Batangas, Laguna, and all the way to Alabang-Zapote. Yet on that same day, some 400 people massed for a “political convention” to formalize the nomination of administration candidates for the coming elections. 

We thought that incompetence during a pandemic was the worst that could happen. We were wrong. We assumed subpar performance would be tempered by humility. What we have is the opposite in the form of officials flaunting their privilege and power. Therein lies the root of our national misfortune: arrogance.

For what is arrogance if not blaming citizens and demanding that they sacrifice (“magtiis”) some more while Cabinet secretaries and assistants collect Ferraris, buy luxury motorcycles, or flex million-peso watches during interviews? Is it not arrogance when top officials cut lines and get VIP rooms while hundreds wait helplessly in hospital driveways? And when they close restaurants, churches, and small businesses then allow politicians to mass gather as if there’s no pandemic, that is not incompetence but, arrogance as well.

Arrogance is contagious. And patient zero is a leader who defames and belittles those who disagree. With his example, lieutenants have gotten into the habit of attacking health and economic experts who don’t align with government policies. Consider the official whose viral video shows him shouting at representatives of protesting doctors and nurses. It was painful to watch. And for those who have parents, children, relatives, or friends serving in the front lines, it is understandable to feel enraged by the official’s accusations. After all, our healthcare workers spend their days in the trenches, not in plush conferences rooms. They work surrounded by the virus, not platters of catered food. And yet, there they were – excoriated and disrespected for voicing their grievances. One wonders where the official’s rage comes from. It’s not as if these doctors cavorted with dolphins or traipsed to beaches in the guise of “reviving tourism.”

Arrogance is costly. One of the best lessons the late senator Edgardo Angara (SEJA) shared with his staff was to “work with people better than you.” By SEJA’s reasoning, being surrounded by smarter people increases the chances of success. SEJA didn’t feel threatened by competing ideas, no matter where it came from. “Hindi bawal sa gobyerno ang plagiarism (Plagiarism is not prohibited in the government),” he used to joke. As one might surmise, this requires a boatload of humility. Unfortunately for this nation, there lies the rub. Because when your leadership is composed of persons whose are used to giving orders and never be questioned about them, the solution to every problem lies in the same set of words: “Sumunod na lang kayo (Just follow).”

What exacerbates our plight is that this arrogance acquired more virulence from five years of impunity. The only known cure for pride is to “fall.” But, a culture of impunity leaves no incentive for top leaders to learn from their mistakes. Consider our current situation. The positivity rate has breached 29%. This means that out of 3 people tested, 1 is positive for COVID. Some 2.16 million infected of which 34,733 have died. (To visualize this, the MOA Arena has a capacity of 15,000). These are not “excellent” numbers. And yet no one has been held to account. Instead, the President has pledged to protect his lieutenants “to the end.” And at the rate things are going, it is likely our end he’s referring to, not theirs.

Arrogance is blinding. When leaders are insulated from the consequences of their choices, their edicts reflect the privilege they enjoy. Like changing lockdown classifications at the last-minute. (It’s not as if they have food stocks that will spoil). Or changing vaccination policies midstream. (It is the LGUs/mayors, who scramble to execute.) Or refusing to funnel much-needed aid to distressed MSMEs because “our numbers might be affected.” (Well, those numbers went down anyway. And now, more people are jobless and hungry.) Going into 2022, we see the same ties between unaccountable power, arrogance and disconnected policies. As Senator Drilon revealed, they are allocating only P3.45 billion for direct assistance to ailing businesses, while P28 billion is funneled to “fight communists” (NTF-ELCAC). “Parang walang (It seems there is no) COVID,” quipped an online observer.

Lastly, arrogance perpetuates suffering. It is why we are stuck despite more than a year of painful lessons. Because while incompetence is fixable, arrogance is unteachable. With guidance, even the slowest student can become a class leader. But no amount of teaching can help those who insist their performance is “Excellent!”  – Rappler.com

John Molo is a commercial law litigator who enjoys reading and learning about the Constitution and its intersection with politics. He teaches Constitutional Law at UP Law-BGC, where he also chairs the Political Law Cluster of the Faculty. He is the President of the Harvard Law School Association of the Philippines, and a past Chairman of the IBP Law Journal. He led the team that sued the Aquino administration and invalidated the PDAF.