Some people say they are the latest version of the steak commandos of America, Victor S. Barrios and his California/Manila-based group, who are the prime movers of Global Filipino Coalition seeking for representation in the legislature under a new or revised Constitution in time for the next presidential or parliamentary elections.
The steak commandos of Vic Barrios are businessmen and professionals doing well in America who, according to the global coalition, feel that it is about time that global Filipinos take a bigger role in reshaping the Philippines' political and economic landscape.
Unlike the old steak commandos of Raul Manglapus who considered themselves as exiles, Barrios and his coalition are well-meaning citizens or permanent residents of America and other countries seeking for representation in the Philippine legislature, whether it is bicameral or unicameral.
"Since Philippine laws under the dual-citizenship concept allow overseas Filipinos to vote, why not give them also the right to be voted upon?" Vic asked when I met him in San Francisco just last week.
It's good Vic Barrios, a former Philippine banker-turned-international banker for the World Bank and other multilaterals, asked that question.
The colonies of North America, before they collectively became the United States of America, revolted against England, the Motherland, over the issue of taxation without representation. The United States won that war and became independent.
I am not suggesting anything similar because the US and the Philippines are two separate cases although there are groups in the Philippines who want the country annexed to the US or become a member of the union.
Taxation without representation was the famous battle cry during the American Revolution, but that issue is not being raised in the Philippine present context because double taxation is not an issue.
"Votation" without representation (votation is a native and unique Filipino English usage, by the way) might be the more appropriate battle cry because the right to vote carries with it the right to be voted upon, Vic insisted.
Which also reminds me of the propaganda years during the time of Jose Rizal and the other steak commandos based in Madrid and Barcelona. Rizal wanted representation in the Spanish Cortes, the parliament of Spain. He and his fellow steak commandos wanted to be members of the Parliament by converting the Philippines into a province or district of Spain.
Of course, Barrios and his group are not literally steak commandos. They are neither commandos nor steak eaters. The many days I spent in San Francisco were mostly spent with Vic, who is now chairman of Worldwide Capital Corp. of California. At the same time, he is also a highly compensated consultant of the World Bank. He and his "steak gang members" are mostly adobe eaters.
The coalition, according to Vic, the chairman of the ninth Philippine Business Conference who delivered a speech in Malacañang demanding reforms from President Ferdinand E. Marcos, wants to help the Motherland (the Philippines) progress in economic and political stature.
Ah, the Motherland! It may sound sexist but the male sector is not complaining. Other countries call themselves the Fatherland, some say, but that is another issue. There is no such thing as Father Nature, father tongue or computer father board. The Philippines was named after King Philip of Spain and America, Americus Vespucci, both males, probably.
But American Filipino representation in the Philippine legislative branch is another thing, according to those who oppose Barrios' gambit. Filipinos who are now American citizens by virtue of birth or naturalization have no business intervening in homeland political affairs.
Barrios pointed out that global Filipinos seek equality for all Filipinos, i.e., "at home and abroad, all Filipinos have the same rights."
Building on this principle, he stressed that global Filipinos should also be entitled to proportional representation on the same basis as onshore Filipinos. This idea expands the notion of the election district.
Vic argued that the Motherland should embrace all Filipinos—again, at home and abroad. The rapid march of globalization has spread out global Filipinos in more than 130 countries. What is important is not the soil where they stand but that they stand out wherever they are, he pointed out.
At the core of the sentiments of global Filipinos is the conviction that "once a Filipino, always a Filipino." Accordingly, they seek to enshrine this principle in the Constitution, the implication being that one could only lose Filipino citizenship by formally renouncing it.
Would dual citizenship be inconsistent with unified commitment to the Motherland? Barrios pointed out that open societies, such as the US and the United Kingdom, tend to be progressive societies. There are no prohibitions for US dual citizens to run for US public office or public office abroad.
The Commonwealth of Nations (composed of 53 states) has a Commonwealth citizenship for its members' citizens. Some member states, e.g., UK, allow non-nationals who are Commonwealth citizens to vote and stand for election while resident there.
The notion of supra-national citizenship of the Commonwealth of Nations extends to the European Union, which has a membership of 25 nations. European Union Law has the concept of EU citizenship, which emanates from citizenship of a member state. EU citizens could aspire for seats in the EU Parliament.
Barrios strongly believes that the world is headed toward global openness and convergence of governance of different states.
Is Vic pursuing an elusive Quixotic quest? No matter: He thinks there is so much at stake behind the windmills. . . .
E-mail: raulbvalino@yahoo.com.ph.
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