5 Reasons why I'm voting for Adel Tamano as Senator

Even before personally meeting Adel Tamano during the SocCSKSarGen Bloggers' meet-and-greet with him in April this year, I already have him high in my list of senatorial candidates. As the election nears, my reasons for voting for him are getting numerous, but let me cite the Top Five:

#5. He represents an exemplar of who and what a Muslim could and should be.  When asked about misconceptions about Filipino Muslims in an interview with Wilson Flores Lee published in the Philippine Star, Adel said:

First, Islam is a religion of peace, just from the root word for peace which is “salaam” in Arabic or “shalom” in Hebrew, that’s why it’s called Islam. No. 2, the vast majority of Muslims in the Philippines and in the world have no links with terrorism, and the overwhelming majority of Muslims are opposed to terrorism and fundamentalism. No. 3, we have a deep respect for women. In fact, historically, Islam gave women so many rights like women’s right to own property and to inherit property, those were given hundreds of years before the Western world gave those legal rights to their own women.

As a senator, he intends to work for lasting peace in Mindanao. Like many Muslims I have the privilege to befriend and to work with, Adel promotes peace even on an interpersonal level. During our bloggers' meet-and-greet with him,  he was asked a lot of questions about other political candidates and personalities, but he has no mean bones in him and gave at least diplomatic remarks about them.

#4. Adel is an educator at heart. His parents, the late Senator Mamintal “Mike” Tamano and Hadja Putri Zorayda Abbas, instilled in him the love of knowledge and provided him with the rich exposure to a multi-faceted experience by sending him to study here in the Philippines and abroad.

He taught law subjects at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Ateneo de Manila University, Far Eastern University, Mindanao State University, University of the East and De la Salle University.

When he was appointed by Manila City Mayor Fred Lim as president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), he put a premium on providing quality education and created a program that enabled financially poor students to enter the university, thus making PLM truly a “The People’s University.” 

In Adel’s commencement speech in Harvard Law School in 2005 where he was the first Filipino Muslim scholar to graduate with a master of laws degree, he said, “Ultimately, the real value of our education will be assessed in terms of our making the world a more just, peaceful, equitable, environmentally sustainable, and tolerant place for our children.”

#3. He lives up to his name Adel, which in Arabic means Lover of Justice, by pursuing a career as a lawyer. Having both paternal and maternal grandfathers who served as judges and his father and uncles as practising lawyers, Adel indeed carries this torch of legacy in their clan. His acute sense of justice prods him to speak out against injustices when and where he sees them. Reacting to the recent dismissal by Justice Secretary Alberto Agra of the case against the Ampatuans, he said the dismissal was a “thank you” from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the Ampatuans for letting her win in the 2004 and 2007 elections. It is also a spit in the face to all the families of the Maguindanao massacre victims. Bravo, Adel!

#2. It is not a well-known fact that 39-year old Adel initially wanted to be a writer before deciding to study law. However, he still continued writing essays and legal books. I enjoin my readers to read this witty opinion piece he wrote for Manila Times: Superman is Moro.

Adel and his wife Rowena (also a lawyer with whom he has two sons, Santi and Mike) are avid readers. When I found out about this fact, it became the very first reason why I will vote for him. His scintillating wit during the meet-and-greet with the bloggers is a testament to his being a well-read person.

Another little-known fact about Adel is that he was a Kundirana member (same group where Ogie Alcasid and other singers had their first taste of performing) as a high school student at La Salle Greenhills.

In my book, any candidate like Adel who reads and sings a lot must have more substance that deserves further scrutiny after initially being dazzled by his resemblance to Eric Quizon (he admitted this to the bloggers) and twin dimples to die for.

#1. Declining offers to run for the Senate in 2007, Adel's initial foray into politics for the 2010 elections is admirably marked with statesmanship and fairness. His platform of government: responsible citizenship, primacy of education, rule of law, and anti-corruption. His legislative agenda: education as budgetary priority, establishment of local colleges and universities, entrepreneurial centers, programmed public services in health, green energy, and peace process. His demeanor and statements during the TV point out the kind of statesmanship that would have made his father proud.

He decried the prevalence of muck-raking and black propaganda  as bad. When he was asked to opine on the alleged psychiatric report on Noynoy Aquino divulged recently by Nacionalista Party volunteer, Guido Delgado, he said:

"I'm condemning the action he has taken. I feel Mr. Delgado did a disservice to the Nacionalista Party by presenting this document that was not verified, not authenticated."

But, Tamano added, the NP would be better off focusing on the strengths of its campaign and the qualification and competence of its candidates. "We have to level-up the campaign, no more smear campaign. But coming up with this fake document, fake psychiatric report is pure and simple black propaganda, specially coming from a volunteer of the Nacionalista Party," he said.

Adel's refusal to play the dirty tactics game in politics has now become a benchmark by which future well-meaning politicians will be evaluated by voters.

Adel Tamano connects with the SocCSKSarGen Bloggers at Grab-a-Crab on April 10, 2010.