Team of rivals

By Manuel “Boy” Mejorada

It didn’t get much publicity, and I guess former 4th District Rep. Ferjenel Biron, M.D. and his son, incumbent 4th Rep. Braeden John Biron, intended it to be that way.

But the family’s donation of protective personal equipment, Covid 19 testing kits and other gear to the Iloilo provincial government last week was a rare demonstration of unity in a terrible crisis brought about by the corona virus pandemic in the country.

It was The Daily Guardian founder Lemuel T. Fernandez, Dr. Biron’s trusted political chief of staff, who turned over the much-needed items that doctors, nurses and hospital staff who have to man the frontlines in the fight against the disease to Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor, Jr.

No fan-fare. Former Cong. Ferj, being a doctor, knows that the province’s 11 hospitals will have to beef up their defenses as fast as they could. The PPEs, testing kits and face masks have been in short supply, and there was no time to lose.

The elder Biron set aside the animosities that marked his political battle with Defensor for the governorship of the province. When lives of thousands of people were at stake, politics would have to go to the backstage. This is “team of rivals” moment, a time when adversaries come together to fight a common enemy.

“Team of Rivals’ is the title of a book written by Dorothy Kearns Goodwin about how the late U.S. President Abraham Lincoln brought together his bitter rivals for the White House into his Cabinet. Together, they forged a strong government that helped stem the tide of the secessionist rebellion by the Confederate states in the U.S. and then win the civil war in 1865.

This is the spirit that is needed in the entire country.

As the Philippines struggles to keep the tide of the Covid 19 pandemic from swamping the country, we continue to see ugly instances of political divisiveness at work. At the national level, there is an overt effort to erode the people’s confidence in the Duterte administration. It is a distraction that has no place in the midst of this crisis.

In a lot of provinces, cities and municipalities, we are also witnessing old rivalries becoming obstacles to the ability of LGUs to respond effectively to the crisis. The social amelioration activities that are badly needed to soften the impact of the enhanced community quarantine — or call it a lockdown — are often mired by politics. Their constituencies suffer more than necessary as a result.

The Covid 19 pandemic is a crisis never experienced before by a people known for resilience in periods of adversity. Around the world, we can see the most powerful nations ravaged by this disease, with the sick now exceeding 723,000, and deaths inching toward 34,000. Almost all countries have been crippled by this virus known to have originated from wild bats in China.

I am writing this piece to highlight this “team of rivals” spirit shown by Dr. Ferj Biron and pray that like the corona virus, it will spread like a pandemic among our national and local officials. If we want to achieve the goal of “We heal as one”, setting aside political bickerings and working together is the place to start.