De Lima is no Senator Miriam

We noted the howl among many admirers of the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago over apparent attempts to portray beleaguered Sen. Leila de Lima her “successor.”

De Lima is not the new Miriam, admirers have been quick to assert, following fumbling efforts in social media to package her as such.

To honor the memory of the witty, feisty and brilliant Senator Miriam, we join in that chorus of objection.

Senator Miriam had her share of low points in her political career. She had met with setbacks and defeats. She has had to take a stand on certain issues by her lonesome.

Even during those low points, Senator Miriam was in control. She could be angry, but she remained logical. She could be very vocal but never hysterical. She could display righteous rage, but she never had a meltdown.

When she championed a cause, we knew she was defending one that is not purely and privately her own. She never appeared to be motivated by a private agenda. She stood up and displayed her courageous brilliance on matters concerning the Constitution, the law and the democratic processes.

When she took the floor, she was the star. She earned that star. She worked hard for it. She proved that she deserved to be one.

Even when she was furious over injustice, her words were elegant, her grammar and syntax impeccable.

When she spoke, we listened. We listened because we knew we would learn. A magna cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines, she was a Pambansang Propesora—a national professor. Each time she expounded on a point of law or on a process, we learned.

She was respected, too, by her colleagues and peers. They deferred to her. Even when they stood on the opposite end of the political spectrum, they treated Senator Miriam with reverence.

Senator Miriam now rests in peace after a long bout with cancer. The fearless lawmaker from Iloilo first announced on July 2014 that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Late last year, despite her illness, she declared she would seek the presidency for the third time.

Senator Miriam devoted most of her life to serving God, her country and her people.

She will forever be inimitable. As of today, no one can take her place in the nation’s heart.

No, de Lima is definitely not the heir to Senator Miriam’s throne.

Power-sector developments

The electric-power sector is worried about recent developments in the Commission on Appointments.

Last we heard, Sen. Ping Lacson has posed strong objections to the nomination of acting Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi Jr. and has threatened to invoke the much-feared Section 20 of the commission’s rules if the latter’s nomination is brought to the floor.

Lacson had questioned the report of Cusi that 100 percent of the country’s barangays are now being supplied with electricity. The senator said he doubts the figures.

The bigger objection, however, was on Cusi’s qualification to be energy secretary. Lacson noted that Cusi’s experience has been in the area of logistics and transportation rather than on power.

We have the highest respects for the position and the views of Lacson. He is one lawmaker who speaks with much sense and who knows what he is talking about. However, there are concerns in power sector circles that the bases for the objection mentioned by the lawmaker may be trivial.

For one, Cusi may have simply based his report on rural electrification on statistics provided him by bureaucrats who have been in his department since time immemorial.

In fairness to Cusi, he has just assumed the DoE post and is not expected to be responsible for whatever failure the government may have in the bid to supply all the barangays with power.

As for Cusi’s lack of previous exposure to the power sector, the objection may be valid but not entirely on the mark. The energy secretary’s role is non-technical. He is expected to drive policies and programs.

Cusi’s close relationship with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the rest of the PDP-Laban is his biggest asset here. The relationship should be able to help Cusi get the legislative and policy reforms badly needed in the power sector.

As for technical expertise, Cusi already has that kind of person in his side. Power sector observers say Cusi has formed a formidable tandem with Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar.

It is Salazar who possesses the technical expertise. Salazar is both an electrical engineer and seasoned lawyer.

This is why when the two solidified their alliance, a strong signal was sent to the power sector that it would be difficult to run circles around them. This is important. The Cusi-Salazar combination could actually erase all notions that the government kowtows to private-sector interest in the power industry.

We hope Senator Lacson will give Cusi a chance to prove his mettle at pushing policy and program reforms in the power sector.