The tragedy of Governor Jose “Otik” Riano is that he delivers. And in Romblon, this tragedy wins elections.
Like Rep. Eleandro Jesus Fabic “Budoy” Madrona, Gov. Otik is in his final run after successively winning the Romblon governorship twice in a row—his last victory being a margin of close to 30,000 votes over former governor and congressman Lolong Firmalo.
A giant-slayer, you say? No. Lolong is no political Goliath, but he is a pushover neither. In fact, he dealt Budoy Madrona his one and only loss in the Congressional race of 2004. And as it turned out, Firmalo’s sway over Budoy was short-lived. The latter handily wrested from him the position of representative in a classic return bout three years later.
Ranged against the previous governors of Romblon in terms of performance and achievements, how does Otik fared in the past six years as governor, and how does he manage to be ahead of the competition?
The first question is up for the voters to decide in May, while the answer to the second is on the first sentence of this piece. Let me elaborate.
In 1853, the German journalist and politician August Ludwig von Rochau invented the word realpolitik in an essay that had become famous for its political tone and substance: “Practical Politics: An Application of its Principles to the Situation of the German States.”
Since then, realpolitik has gained wide currency and immense political value, for any one who engages in realpolitik often stays above—if not ahead—of the pack. Including Gov. Otik, who has since mastered the nuances, no, the art, of realpolitik.
Realpolitik is practical politics. It is politics based on practical and material considerations rather than on ideological or theoretical or ethical objectives. A realist, most often, blows away the ideologue and the theoretician.
Now, let us examine the realpolitik of Gov. Otik.
In a visit to Sibale last year during the launching of my third flagship program—the Sibale Kabuhayan Program, or SIKAP—Gov. Otik was surprised, and was quizzical how as municipal mayor, I was able to organize 23 civil society organizations (CSOs) in just a matter of two years. My reply was that I work even during holidays and even on weekends. I told him I am in a race against time, for I believe that without the civil society as partners, the local government unit could not move as fast as it should in its development pursuits. Sibale has languished the longest in the backwaters as a municipality and this must cease to be.
“Given your circumstances, how can I help?”, he asked, the realist in him kicking in, and not even asking about the philosophies or ideologies of the 23 CSOs.
Such is Gov. Otik. He is pragmatism personified. He is practical and make decisions standing up, on the ground, where his feet are always firmly rooted. Pragmatic leaders—Gov. Otik is one of them—sees things that are opaque to pessimists. They are street-smart and not easily swayed by flowery expositions of thoughts that do not matter at the kitchen table. Gov. Otik feels the people’s pulse and he acts, delivers, based on his sharp political instincts.
On the other side of realpolitik are the ideologues and the theorists, whose worldview are tangentially opposed to everyday realities, like opposing mining where there is none and courting the support of outside forces whose knowledge of the socio-economic and political culture of Romblomanon are at worst suspect, gathered as they were from unreferenced social media and oral accounts.
Realpolitik has carried the day for Romblon in the last six years. In the field of citizens’ well-being alone, Gov. Otik has delivered more basic health products and services to the people, maybe more than all previous governors had, combined. I know whereof I speak: Gov. Otik had just recently replaced the decades-old, rickety ambulance of Sibale with a brand-new Toyota, which he insisted to be the brand no less. In Sibale these days, going to the hospital on account of being low on cash is no longer a problem. Gov. Otik not only makes sure that bills are bearable, but also that the patient gets out of the hospital kicking with a new leash of life.
But the one trait that endears Gov. Otik to those who know him up close is his loyalty to Rep. Budoy Madrona. Today, there is in the province a dearth of loyal and honest leaders, as Rep. Madrona himself often observes, but in Gov. Otik, he finds him a steadfast ally, a listener, and a follower with a certainty of purpose.
Unlike others, Gov. Otik does not ascend the rooftops to shout for all the world to hear that he is loyal to Rep. Budoy and his cause. He just shows. He delivers. Perhaps, Gov. Otik has read Wole Soyinka?
One of my favorite African writers, Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel laureate in literature wrote that “A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude. He pounces.” How true! One does not proclaim that he is loyal. He acts and delivers to demonstrate loyalty, like what Gov. Otik does. Alas, there are politicians gravitating around Rep. Budoy’s orbit who shout their loyalty to the Congressman as if saying the rosary aloud, but at the end of the day they are found wanting and undeserving of Rep. Budoy’s graces.
On many instances, I have seen that Gov. Otik preciously values the wise counsel of Rep. Budoy even if on the process he had to surrender some of his realpolitik principles. He knew, as a pragmatic and practical leader, that the Congressman’s advice is always the last word. And look at the results! Finally, after so many years, the Romblomanon has seen a tandem that has catapulted our province to the cusp of prosperity and progress. I see no other leadership combination that has withstood the vagaries of politics than the BOTIKA team. The A in the triumvirate stands for Arming Gutierrez, the vice governor, but I reserve another day for him.
Thus, I predict that in the May 2025 polls, the brew consisting of Rep. Budoy’s visionary statecraft and Gov. Otik’s realpolitik will overwhelmingly prevail, for it is a potent brew, strong enough to convince the doubting Thomases inside and outside the BOTIKA team that their opponents will be swept away—for there is no other outcome—and they will have just to live for another day.
