Fiscalizers as game-changers

By Renato Tibon

“It does not take a majority to prevail… but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” – Samuel Adams, one of the founding fathers of the United States

A FILIPINO politician worth his salt understands the word “fiscalizer” as referring to the opposition or a member of the minority, a “countervailing” actor in legislative zarzuelas which the majority allows to rant and rave and wallow in privilege speeches, knowing they have the number to negate whatever influence they may hold sway. At least that is how they are framed in the Philippine political setting and the righteous ranter, finding himself pro tem in the opposite fence, still revels in the role knowing the fact that as minority goes, they are not expected to accomplish anything.

Coined by Filipino lawmakers to describe themselves as critics of alleged government wrongdoing, the word “fiscalizer” has not found its way into any respectable dictionary except in the lexicon of seasoned politicians and highlighted by the constant usage of media reporters inured to the ways of politics from both sides of the fence. The word fiscal is related to taxation, public revenues or involving financial matters although none of the self-proclaimed fiscalizers would want the meaning as doing it only for the money.

The term could have likewise evolved from the Spanish translation of “fiscalizer” to criticize and which is variously used to describe “the responsibility of supervising, coordinating, inspecting and evaluating activities of governments and ensuring accountability in the work of public administration and effective oversight of its provisions.”

Next-generation politicians would continue the practice as critics and use the word to describe themselves as the public image of a righteous fighter, a fierce combatant for some cause or anything worth ranting or railing against, especially government. Filipinos’ penchant for malapropisms, inventing words such as “salvage” for kill or “carnapping” as a counterpart to kidnapping may have given rise to the popular usage of the term although meanwhile, “fiscalizer” may have to settle for a “phantom semantic existence” in the area of politics.

Among the politicians attributed to having effectively used their “fiscalizer” roles were former Sen. Villar, Sen. Joker Arroyo as opposition within the Arroyo administration, Sen. Benigno Aquino III who appropriated the word as campaign tag and persona and Sen. Leila Delima who saw herself as the fiscalizer for the anti-crime thrust of Duterte administration. For whatever their worth, they may have profoundly shifted the balance of power from the traditional hold of the majority.

Most vocal “fiscalizers” come from minority parties who play a smaller (in some cases even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country’s politics and elections. Some of the minor parties play almost no role in a country’s politics because of their low recognition, votes, and donations. Thus, a minority who managed to win seats must constantly bargain for support to pass legislation and avoid being counted out for non-performance. Except in rare circumstances as when the local executive is magnanimous and willing to appropriate committee chairmanships, most minority parties are treated insignificantly.

The politics in the country reflects significant “bandwagoning, as political and economic elites surge toward power, like iron fillings toward a magnet.” The irony of the neglected minority is when they become the majority, they start to neglect the minority. This is typical in a political system such as the Philippines have, where minority politicians who took seats, shift to the majority party such as the party of the President, like bees to honeycombs and become “turncoats” or “balimbings.” Political party affiliations are unstable, loyalty is to the leader and not to programs, and votes are bought and sold openly notwithstanding extant electoral laws. Still the minority, through the active presence of its “fiscalizers” or critics can put the incumbent who holds power to task and act as oversight over their activities.

Locally, the City Council of Cagayan de Oro is fortunate to have at least two elected members of the minority in the persons of councilors Jocelyn “Bebot” Rodriguez and Lordan Suan, coming from the opposite political party, who took the cudgel as “fiscalizers” having been repeatedly ignored and not given committee chairmanships, an anomaly with political undertones that continues to persist even today.

Politics should have taken a backseat for the welfare of Kagayanons. Settling for mere committee membership, the two hardy lawmakers managed to submit several vital proposed bills some of which reaching fourth and final readings and are headed towards the plenary for actual deliberation and approval. That is despite the fact that they used their personal money to pay the services of their staff and researchers having been refused the appropriations supposedly automatically allocated to their office including the privilege of hiring at least 10 personnel as “job orders” to facilitate their legislative work.

Using diplomacy as much as she can, Councilor Rodriguez, true to the mandate of her District 2 constituents, tries to be useful in the committees assigned to her and hopefully with the kind accommodations accorded by the other councilors, she may yet be able to pass landmark laws such as the Mental Health Ordinance, for which she is a proponent, now on its final refinements.

These two fiscalizers may yet prove to be true game-changers. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Even if you’re the minority of one, the truth is the truth.”