"In politics, words are deeds," Columnist George Wills once wrote. And on sidelines of the politically-charged brawl, between the Senate and the Presidential Commission on Good Government, tv cameras caught a heated flap over a single word: "crony."

Did PCGG commissioner Ricardo Abcede tag Senator Juan Ponce Enrile a crony of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos? Senator Enrile fumed he's no crony and threatened to sue.

However, the Supreme Court order for the Senate to present PCGG chair Camilo Sabio overshadowed this flap.

So, why does this word stoke so much heat?

Because "crony" has evolved from it's original "innocently neutral" meaning, replies Ateneo University's Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ.

In August 1999, for example, an irritated President Joseph Estrada protested that he had no cronies; but he did have a host of friends. "Was he making a distinction without a difference?," the Jesuit scholar asked.

Crony "originated as a university or college slang somewhere in 17th century England. It simply meant a chum, the kind President Estrada says he proudly has, Fr. Bernas noted.

Thus, Samuel Pepys, in his Diary ( 1655 ) wrote of "my old chum who was a great crony of mine.And from the noun comes the verb to 'to crony'. Thus we're told (1873 ) that the 'Earl of Delamere and Rollo cronied so completely, Elinor saw very little of her father. "Nothing seems criminal about the original meaning of the word".

So, what happened in between?

"In recent years, crony' gained notoriety as it became the descriptive title of those who are unfairly allowed to partake of the public bounty under a controlling dispensation", Fr. Bernas observed. "It has even spawned an 'ism" - as in 'cronyism'.

"In the mind of the contemporary public, the meaning which the word 'crony' has acquired is clear. It has reference to those who, because of their closeness to the highest authority of the land, benefit financially from, and participate in the plunder of the Philippine economy.

"( Crony ) now has criminal and conspiratorial undertones. People speak freely of its new meaning. It is used to label specific persons, darkly linking them to a President and his regime."

"Crony capitalism became notorious under President Marcos and the title crony has become a badge of dishonor. But what does crony mean? Are you or were you ever one? And what if you were?"

You'd be filthy rich, President Marcos said in a Time magazine interview on 11 November. 1985. His regime was then in a tailspin from abuses and corruption.

Time: "What about the cronyism in Philippine business that we often read about?"
Marcos: "If it were true that special favors were given to some of these people because they are my cronies, then they should still be here, and they should be wealthy. But who are these cronies? If there be any cronies in government, point them out and we will investigate."

In an Inquirer interview ( 9 December 1998 ) Imelda Marcos pointed those "given by Ferdinand no less than P1 billion each to acquire companies for him.We made them so rich but they got too greedy. Now, they refuse to turn over to us the top firms that the Marcoses rightfully owned."

Who? The Inquirer reports Mrs Marcos "directed her tirade against the likes" of Lucio Tan, Antonio Cojuangco, Roberto Benedicto, Rolando Gapud, Jose Yao Campos, Herminio Disni, among others.

But "I never figured crony to be a bad word," Rudolfo Cuenca told Wall Street Journal (4 November 1983 ) A golfing companion of Marcos, he parlayed his fledgling Construction & Development Corporation into a giant firm - until People Power I hit.

Did that "bad word" fit Mr Enrile when, by his admission, he faked his car's ambush to trigger martial. No? Then, what should be the right word? "Chum?"

"And did President Estrada have cronies in the sense of the word's contemporary meaning?," Father Bernas wondered. Ask Mr. Estrada's former chief of staff, Dr. Aprodicio Laquian who returned to teaching in Canada.

In his book "The Erap Tragedy: Tales from the Snake Pit", Laquian identifies five clusters that swirled around the President: from arrow-straight technocrats to his "midnight cabinet. The latter drunkenly caroused with Erap until dawn and squeezed benefits . "At 4 am, I'd be the only one left sober" Laquian recalls.

In the section titled "The President's Cronies", Laqiuan notes Estrada assumed those who were rich couldn't be considered cronies. These included Eduardo Cojuangco, Lucio Tan, Jose Sel Yulo. "People we were asked to watch out for included : Charlie "Atong" Ang, Wiliam Gatchalian, Jaime Dichavez, Lucio Lao Co and Dante Tan.( Ang, Dichavez and Tan skipped the country ahead of the cops after Edsa II.)

Because of criticism, the President made a show of distancing himself from cronies like Mark Jimenez and Charlie Atong Ang. "Despite this announcement, we we witnessed the frequent coming and goings of many of the President's cronies," Laquian writes.

And when cronies that made up the 'midnight cabinet" stood up and staggered outside the door, "much has been accomplished that may affect the way things are done in this country" This resulted in "5K Governance: rule by "kamaganak, kaklase, kumpadre, kaibigan...at kabit", "I can only say that I believe (President Estrada) him when he says he has a wealth of friends", Fr. Bernas chuckles. By the same token, we can also take Mr Enrile at his word when he insists he's no crony. He too has many friends.

(E-mail: juan_mercado@boholchronicle.com)