There were issues left hanging in our last piece, remember? But while the same is not-so-anymore-hot topic these days, we still find it relevant due to the magnitude of its importance and impact on our society and history – the infamous Perfecto Yasay – Na-wasay. He will go down the history of Philippine politics as the Commission on Appointment’s (CA’s) first and unanimous rejected appointment by a sitting president. And as reported in the news, the reason of his rejection by the CA was he was lying under his teeth. It was uncovered that he is actually an American citizen and not a Filipino citizen.
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By clear definition, “lying” means the telling of lies, or false statements. And “lie” means a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood; the charge or accusation of telling a lie: … to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive. Yes, that was the reason Mr. Perfecto Yasay – Na-wasay was emphatically rejected by the Commission on Appointments.
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But if there is any consolation to Mr. Perfecto Yasay – Na-wasay, a silver lining beyond the horizon so to speak, he and his case will still and surely remembered, his story re-told in the years and generations to come. And he will be a living example to be learned from today, tomorrow, and beyond many generations to come.
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And who is Mr Perfecto Yasay anyway? We tried the reliable search engine of the information highway called – the internet. Voila! The first item we saw was from Wikipedia, it says: “Perfecto ‘Jun’ Rivas Yasay Jr. (born January 27, 1947) is a Filipino formerly-American bureaucrat who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines in an ad interim basis from June 30, 2016 until March 8, 2017, the rejection of his appointment by the Commission on Appointment over eligibility concerns resulting from questions on his citizenship.” I suppose that immediately after his CA rejection the highlighted part of the sentence above was added to a rather long prepared biography as an update. See how information almost instantaneously updates itself nowadays?
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The second item (WikiPilipinas) under the search engine we opened gave this information: “Perfecto ‘Jun’ Rivas Yasay, Jr. (born on 27 January 1947) is a Filipino lawyer, educator, and statesman. He is the current Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on 30 June 2016. He was the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yasay is Bangon Pilipinas’ vice-presidential bet in the 2010 Philippine elections, running alongside Eddie Villanueva (Wikipedia says this still needs verification). Civil, criminal, and administrative litigation, public advocacy, corporation law and securities regulation, and election law are among his areas of expertise. He has experience in both the Philippines and the United States. He authored numerous articles and commentaries on various fields of law, and was host of live radio broadcast in Metro New York. He gave commentaries and counsel to program listeners with special legal concerns. He was recognized for championing the cause of Filipinos in criminal and in deportation and de–naturalization proceedings in the United States. He is married to former Population Commission executive director Cecile Joaquin and has five children: Nino, Oliver, Richie, Raveena, and Stephanie.”
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To continue, on his early life and education: “Yasay was born on 27 January 1947 to Perfecto Yasay Jr., a pastor, and Deborah Rivas, a public school teacher, in Kidapawan, North Cotabato. He finished his secondary education at Davao City High School in 1963 and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Central Philippine University, Iloilo City in 1967. He earned his law degree at the University of the Philippines and has MBA units in Business Studies from Ateneo de Manila University. As a student, he participated in international conferences and seminars on leadership, world peace, refugee migration and development in the US, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In July 1969, he was elected as the youngest Vice-President of the World Alliance of YMCA in Nottingham, England. He was 23.”
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He too has a perfect career. It says: “Yasay became a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While in New York, he was managing director of the Maceda Philippine News from 1983 to 1987 and senior partner at two law firms—Maceda, Yasay & Tolentino, Esqs., and Yasay & De Castro, Esqs.—from 1979 to 1990. Yasay is also an incorporator of Jacinto Finance, Marilene J. Group Corp., and Cricem Inc. He is also a stockholder of M and F Stores Inc. In the Philippines, he was commissioner of San Jose, Yasay & Santos Law Offices from 1987 to 1993. In 1993, he was assigned as associate commissioner of SEC. He was chairman from 1995 to 2000. On 27 May 1998, he was a Podium Speaker at the United Nations in Geneva Switzerland at the Experts Meeting on the Growth of Domestic Capital Markets. He currently holds the position of chairman and president of Central Philippine University. He also served as visiting Professor of Law at the Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. Yasay is the author of two books, to date: Out of the Lion’s Den: The Travails and Triumphs of a Public Servant and Terminal Four: Corruption in America’s Only Colony in Asia.”
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And in the equally infamous impeachment trial of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, he played a key part. The information tells us that: “Yasay was among those who testified in the impeachment trial against President Joseph Estrada on charges of corruption. The probe led to the ouster of Estrada, known as EDSA People Power II in 2001. On 15 February 2010, Yasay apologized to Estrada for “hurting and offending him” but clarified that this was not a retraction of his testimony on the deposed president’s “abuse of authority and corruption.”
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Yes folks, the perfect Mr./Atty. Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. has a rather perfect qualifications under his name. But these were all gone in the wind or down the drain because he chose to stick to his story that while he was granted an American citizen, he has all the intention not to be so but a Filipino citizen. My favourite line? Res ipsa loquitor! Does this mean that in my fellow columnist (Atty. Erik Donn Ignacio) topic last week – “Top 10 Myths About Lawyers” – the No. 1 is true after all? I say that the case of Mr./Atty. Yasay is an exception, an abe
See related column: Top 10 Myths About Lawyers, by Atty. Erik Donn Ignacio
