The Philippine Online Chronicles

When we were young, Mike Defensor and I shared the trenches. He was my classmate in some History classes, with Miro Quimbo, and my Council chairman when I served as Vice Chair of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) Student Council. It was the height of SAMASA power, and the year when the Philippine Senate was under tremendous pressure from the United States to extend or repeal the Military Bases Agreement (MBA). And Mike was leading everybody as the most admired and the most ardent advocate of the People’s Rights. He championed the poor, urged the rich to join in the fight and led a humongous group in re-shaping the political landscape.

Unknown to many, Mike Defensor was detained during the Cory years. He was championing the repeal of the MBA and that surely, cause headaches to former president Cory Aquino. 1990 was the year when student luminaries like Alex Lacson (now an attorney gunning for the Senate under the Liberal Party), Alan Peter Cayetano (now a Senator), Isko Catibayan, Junie Agcaoili, Miro Quimbo, Bong Bongolan and Ariel Nepomuceno acted as one big lobby group against the MBA. And Mike Defensor led them to victory.

I also was detained along with twelve others when we tried to ram the Bangko Sentral where then Foreign Affairs secretary Raul Manglapus was negotiating with the Americans for the MBA. It did not stop me however from re-joining the ranks and calling for the end to American imperialism.

Despite the tears, the blood and the sacrifices, we won. The Senate voted unanimously in ending the MBA.

Ten years after that, in 2000, Mike Defensor who was one of the Spice Boys, led the group that ousted former president Joseph Estrada. Mike worked the heat in the halls of Congress while I worked clandestine-ly as a broadcast journalist. We met again in Rembrandt Hotel where the 1990’s group along with former senator Raul Roco and then Congressman Joker Arroyo. I was helping the RAM-SFP-YOU, along with the others.

After a year, Estrada backed down and then vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ascended the presidency. The efforts of the 1990’s group proved to be effective yet again.

Mike Defensor stayed behind and helped Arroyo while I continued working for the rights of the people. After two years, I backed out and started campaigning for the ouster of the illicit usurper.

Ten years past and now, I see myself listening to Mike Defensor while he apologize for those whom he offended while he was serving as a loyalist of Arroyo. This happened not in the streets, nor in a hotel, but in his palatial house in La Vista.

Many things had happened and that includes Mike Defensor losing his senatorial bid and deciding to stay with a highly discredited regime. Now, he’s back as a private citizen and working to fight Herbert Bautista for the top executive post of the biggest city in the country.

I still saw the fire that caught the public’s imagination in the 90’s in Mike. I still felt his sincerity and his will to fight graft and corruption, which, according to him, is affecting the coffers of Quezon City. His political opponent, showbiz star Herbert Bautista stands accused of wasting 270 million pesos just for feeding 473 people consistently for a month and so. And this, says Mike, shows one where the City’s fates will eventually lead once Bautista wins the mayoralty post.

And Mike, realising this, says that he will not allow his beloved city to go to the pits due to mismanagement. And I somewhat felt his sincerity.

For one, Mike started his political career as a Councilor of Quezon City. He eventually made his way up and won the Fourth district’s Congressional post with a landslide victory. Where it not for his ardent defense of Madame Gloria, Mike could have won a Senate seat for himself. But as Fate would have it, Mike lost. Mike Defensor is slowly re-creating himself and his political career. He is going back to his roots and slowly inching his way up to the public consciousness once more. The question really is---will the public forgive him and allow him to re-enter Philippine politics? Will we ever hear of his voice again, championing the cause of the poor, urging the rich to join in the Revolution and fight for what is just and right?

Patricio Mangubat is a pseudonym . It means "country fight". Yet, the one behind this name is real. He can be briefly described as a long-time activist as well as a communication strategist. He once taught at the University of the Philippines and at Dela Salle University. He blogs at The New Philippine Revolution. Aside from writing, he recently opened a roast chicken business, Manok King. He blogs at filipinovoices.com and New Philippine Revolution.

Photo by Mec Arevalo. Some Rights Reserved.

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