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Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Espinoza: Election fraud
By Elias L. Espinoza
UNDERSTANDABLE. The acerbic reactions of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña over claims that cheating happened in the last elections in Cebu is understandable but uncalled for.
The claims of document expert Segundo Tabayoyong that the election returns from Cebu were doctored can affect the integrity of Garcia’s victory since there is a pending protest filed by her defeated opponent Junie Martinez.
Since the time of the late president Marcos, elections were never the same. Accusations of cheating, vote buying, and vote shaving or padding became the preferred lines of election losers. But these were never proven then.
In short, our exercise of suffrage is not always free of accusations or counter-accusations of cheating. What this simply means is that electoral fraud has become part of the system.
The opposition this time, however, is doing everything they can muster to gather more evidence and establish proof that there was election fraud in the last local and national polls. I wish the truth would come out unhampered.
CHANGE. It may not be the immediate solution to the current political woes this republic is experiencing, but many believe that a change from the present presidential form of government to parliamentary can make a difference.
Charter change should not, however, be left to the hands of the few selected honorable men and women in Congress. Amending the Constitution should be done through the process of constitutional convention.
As former Cebu governor Pablo Garcia puts it, the government should not put a price tag on the rewriting of this very important document of the land.
After the “Garci tapes” scandal rocked the present leadership, President Arroyo hinted that there is a need to amend the Constitution through a constitutional assembly, which will be composed of selected congressmen and senators.
Personally, the 1997 Constitution needs amendment, if not total rewriting. It was a constitutional commission that drafted the present Constitution, after the downfall of the late president Marcos.
It’s just understandable that some of the provisions of the 1997 Constitution are preventive, not pro-active, as it is aimed at preventing or avoiding a repeat of the Marcos administration. It lacks foresight.
Having a unicameral legislative body will be advantageous especially in this time of economic crisis. With a single legislative body, urgent measures or laws can be passed immediately with ease.
Since the administration will be ruled by party leadership, the process of changing the leader (prime minister) will be less laborious and painful.
All that the party in power will do is elect the new prime minister within the party in power. The change can be done in an hour and the people won’t have to go to the streets to shout protests, which is almost akin to mob rule.
If this administration is sincere in its plan to have our Charter rewritten and change the form of government, it must hold a constitutional convention anytime this year or early next year, so that by 2007, we will already have a new Charter and a different government system.
(August 23, 2005 issue)
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