"The days of the pretenders are over."
"The days of the pretenders are over."
For the longest time, the party-list system has been bastardized by those fielding in nominees who do not in any way represent the sector the particular party-list group is claiming to represent. Groups claiming to be representing urban poor, drivers, etc. are fielding nominees who, themselves have never experienced living in shanties nor have made living out of driving dilapidated jeepneys or tricycles.
The days of the pretenders may finally be over as now we have regional political parties entering the derby for the party-list system, advocating the issues and interests of the marginalized but whose nominees have never pretended to come from the impoverished ranks of society.
While we have An Waray and Ako Bicol before, the regional parties in the partylist system have been expanding. This year’s list includes the party-list groups Tingog Sinirangan and Sulong Dignidad.
Tingog Sinirangan which has incumbent Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez, will represent Region 8, one of the more impoverished regions in the country.
According to Romualdez, her party-list group would advocate the advancement of Eastern Visayas by fighting poverty and economic woes caused by the rising prices of basic commodities, push for pro-poor programs and genuine developments to be felt by ordinary people and make the country less vulnerable to disasters, as she stressed the need for Region 8 to be represented under the party-list system to ensure that marginalized sector will have one strong voice in Congress.
“We hope to give one strong voice to the people of region and champion the cause of authentic regional development and make not only Region 8, but the entire country less vulnerable to disasters.”
On the other hand, Sulong Dignidad will be representing the marginalized groups in the National Capital Region.
Sulong Dignidad actually started as a local political party of Una ang Makati. However, due to the continued expansion of its objectives, ideals and advocacies, more people from the National Capital Region applied for membership in the Party, which was made possible with party convention held in January 20, 2017 when the party, amended the Formal and Short name of the Party from Una ang Makati Local Party into Sulong Dignidad Party, expanded its constituency by accepting members from other cities and municipalities in NCR who are residents and registered voters in the region, converted itself from a local political party into a regional party and adopted as part of its objectives, ideals and principles the concept of human dignity.
At the forefront the Sulong Dignidad’s advocacy is its Number One nominee, lawyer Rico Paolo Quicho.
Rico earned his Juris Doctor from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in 2003 and was admitted to the Philippine Bar the following year. He obtained his Masters of Laws degree at the University of the California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) with a Certificate of Specialization in Law and Technology in 2015.
He commenced his legal career as a Junior Associate from 2003 to 2007 at the Siguion-Reyna Montecillo and Ongsiako Law Offices, the oldest law office in the Philippines and a renowned training ground of the country’s legal luminaries. Rico left SRMO to establish his own firm, Quicho and Angeles Law Offices which specialized in domestic and international civil, criminal, commercial and administrative litigation.
Rico gained prominence in 2012, during the historical impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona where he was one of those who represented the former chief Justice as a spokesperson.
From time to time, being a a member of Corona’s highly touted defense team, he had to face off with the senators sitting as jury.
While Corona lost the case due mainly to the alleged political pressure coming from the previous administration (sweetened by the additional funds from the illegal disbursement acceleration program), Rico’s star obviously rose as in the 2016 presidential elections, he was personally handpicked by former Vice President Jejomar Binay to be his Spokesperson for Political Affairs.
So, why focus on human dignity?
“Because human dignity is the core value of governance and we want to promote competent and effective governance to fight poverty, hunger and unemployment,” Rico declares.
“We believe that every Filipino must be treated equally and fairly, that every Filipino’s dignity and self-worth should always be at the forefront of legislation. We believe that every Filipino’s life is sacred, that every Filipino should be protected from violence, harm and unfair treatment. We believe that empowering local government institutions to provide social services, that every Filipino should have access to education. We believe that every Filipino must have meaningful jobs.”
Rightly said. Very much different from the rhetoric of the traditional party-list groups.And his work may back up his pronouncement as in the course of of daily routine, he has to interact with a lot of people, including the marginalized and those with high aspirations—the students.
Aside form his law firm work, Rico also serves as the dean of the University of Makati School of Law, a local university established under the charter of Makati City, the country’s premier business hub. Outside of his administrative role in UMAK SOL, he also teaches in various law courses, particularly Civil Procedure, Evidence and Trial Technique, and Negotiable Instruments Law, at the San Beda Alabang School of Law, and Civil Procedure and Property Law at the John Wesley School of Law at Wesleyan University.
He was also a former lecturer of Trial Technique for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. Recently, and in line with the Philippine political developments, Rico has been sought after as expert resource person in topics regarding federalism, territorial disputes, the role of technology in harnessing the proper delivery of public service by local government units and data privacy.
Yedda and Rico. They might be successful in their own fields. But they still find time to push and fight for the interests of the impoverished sectors. And yet, they do not pretend to be one just to gain votes.
