Palabra de honor
An agreement does not need to be in writing. The other party is bound to honor a contractual commitment not because the contract is the law between the parties, but because both parties treat their agreement as a sacred vow they swear to fulfill before their God.
In other cultures, a mere handshake after two parties agree on something is as good as a written contract replete with legal jargon. Some even wonder why Filipinos are so fixated with having almost every document notarized when the law does not require notarization for its validity or enforcement. The fixation may have originated from the bad culture of some contracting parties of reneging on their contracts. Some resort to simply denying essential terms and conditions while others shamelessly deny its entire existence or maliciously employ machinations to prevent its execution.
The supposed change of the House of Representatives’ leadership after Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano offered to resign last Thursday, whether scripted or not, was an unholy rite of the breaking of the vow, which is void and unconstitutional from the very beginning.
Public office is not a property that can be the subject of a valid agreement. Both parties to the contract are fully aware that they cannot seek the court’s aid for its enforcement. The President who publicly brokered the deal even has no business meddling with the affairs of a supposed independent House of Representatives. Under the principle of separation of powers, the three branches of government —the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial Departments — vested by the Constitution with separate powers are supposed to act independently of each other to provide checks and balances on the work of the other branches.
Cayetano’s reluctance to relinquish his post does not sit well with the President. Reports say that Duterte asked Cayetano to give way to Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco as a new Speaker.
The outcome of this political zarzuela will expose how our politicians wantonly disregard the nature of a public office as a responsibility and not a right. Public office is instituted for the common good, not for profit, honor, or private interest of any person, family, or class. Suppose Cayetano will heed to the President’s wish, request, command, or whatever that is. In that case, it is clear that the President has stepped on the forbidden ground and has weakened the Legislature’s independence that he is bound to respect. On the other hand, Cayetano’s defiance of the President’s marching order exposes his character. He may invoke the Legislature’s very independence and the illegality of the term-sharing agreement as his legal excuses. Still, he may lose his integrity and stature as a man of honor.
Indeed, men with palabra de honor are a rare breed in Philippine politics nowadays, and a man who is truthful to his words and conscious of his power limits may now be nearing extinction. It is highly improbable that this man is sitting in Malacañang Palace today.