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Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Nalzaro: Is cha-cha the solution?
By Bobby Nalzaro
After President Arroyo delivered her State of the Nation Address or Sona the other day, her critics immediately chided her for not including in the speech the raging political crisis in the country. They said it was a ploy to downplay the mounting calls for her resignation.
But I think the President was right in not mentioning the issues leveled against her, like the so-called Gloriagate tape scandal and the jueteng payola accusations. Touching these issues would have put political color into the Sona.
What would have been the atmosphere there had she defended herself from these allegations and lashed back at her detractors in Congress? That would have triggered a walk out of opposition lawmakers that did not boycott the session.
The traditional Sona, the way I understand it, is the President’s report to the Filipino people of her accomplishments and her plan of action. She can answer the accusations against her, true, but in another forum and surely not in the Sona.
In fact, Mrs. Arroyo already answered these charges through the media. The same allegations are also contained in the impeachment complaint filed by the opposition the other day in the House. There, she will be afforded due process.
The President, in her 23-minute Sona (the shortest she delivered in her five years in office), put a stress on the charter change (cha-cha) issue, a point met with lengthy applause and standing ovation by her supporters led by House Speaker Jose de Venecia.
But why did the President give importance to cha-cha? Is this a priority in her administration? Or is this just another ploy so Congress will be preoccupied with arguing on the matter and can no longer focus on the impeachment complaint filed against her?
Is tinkering with the Constitution and shifting from presidential to parliamentary/federal form of government the solution to the political and economic woes we are facing?
For me, the problem is not the system of government but the politicians themselves. Can the advocates of the parliamentary form of government assure the Filipino people that once we adopt the system we will be freed from the bondage of poverty and become economically stable? And that graft and corruption will be eradicated?
I know that some personalities, like de Venecia and former president Fidel Ramos, are moving heaven and earth for a shift to parliamentary system in order to satisfy their whims and caprices. They and their minions are initiating it in order to perpetuate themselves in power.
But the issue is not amending the Constitution or adopting a new system of government. What matters most is how our political leaders perform and sacrifice so we can achieve our long-desired aspiration for a better Philippines.
(bobby@sunstar.com.ph/0919-3181404) |
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