A must read at this momentous crossroad is "Our Political Parties Before the Bar of History" Senator Claro M. Recto’s valedictory speech when he was conferred a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the University of the Philippines, in 1960. Significantly, it was his last speech for he died shortly after. He began with these words: "We must accept, therefore, full responsibility for the backward condition of our economy, our political immaturity and pompousness, our opportunistic mentality, our predilection for dramatizing minor issues to the neglect of long-range basic question, and for our confusions and indecisions that have delayed for decades the progress of the nation." (Vintage Rector, ed. Renato Constantino, 1986) Recto is still relevant!

The tale of our political parties, as told by Recto, remains intriguing. The Federal Party came first, established in 1901, when the Revolution was still raging. It was designed to "…liquidate the remnants of the resistance movement, discourage all independence propaganda, and stabilize the new [American] regime…" Filipino leaders who became Federalistas were awarded with the choicest and most juicy positions in the government. As a result, political patronage, so characteristic of the American party system, was transferred to the Philippines and used to suppress nationalism. From 1901 to 1907, the Federalista was the only legal party in existence; the 1901 Sedition Law and 1902 Brigandage Act outlawed all other political associations, especially those advocating independence and separation from the USA. As expected, during that period, the Federalistas won all the local elections. One of its objectives was Statehood.

When the Sedition Law was repealed in 1906, the Nacionalista Party was established the following year and won the majority of seats in the Philippine Assembly election. That was taken as a sign that the majority of Filipinos still pined for independence lost. True to its name, the party strongly advocated separation from the USA, but once in power, its victorious members succumbed to the American political patronage system. Like the Federalistas they trounced, the Nacionalistas were allowed to distribute government jobs and in exchange for "…cooperation in the execution of the essential policies of the colonial power...;" they could continue talking about independence but their advocacy became increasingly rhetorical. Evidently, legislation became largely a matter of private arrangement between the American Governor-General and the speaker of the Philippine Assembly who was second only to the American Executive. According to Sen. C. Recto, Filipino participation in the colonial administration consisted in "… the distribution of patronage and in the constant jockeying for positions of rank and distinction." The centralization of our politics in "imperial Manila" was the cruel twin.

In 1946, after a schism in the Nacionalista Party, the Liberal Party was born. Recto described that political event as "motivated by a purely personal rivalry between two Nacionalista leaders in the struggle for the Presidency…" Undeniably, political parties were nothing but electoral apparatuses. In his speech, Sen. Recto emphasized: (1) On top of the party in power was the American colonial administrator who could either dispense or withhold government patronage so no party could afford to displease the colonial power; (2) In a condition of economic backwardness, government became the main employer as there were few opportunities outside the official world; (3) That situation bred centralization and corruption which ambitious and astute politicians used as an instrument for personal advancement in the social and economic spheres; (4) The gravest sin of Philippine politicking was the gross neglect of economic emancipation. Thoroughly engrossed in political power struggles and the doling out of spoils, our political leaders neglected the economic problems of independence. Recto could have been describing our current predicament. (gemma601@yahoo.com) Tune in "Krus na Daan," DZRJ 810 AM band. Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. Watch "Only Gemma!" RJTV, Mondays, 7 to 8 p.m. Sky 19, Destiny 96, Home 19, Sun 65, UHF 29.