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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Nalzaro: Costly exercise
By Bobby Nalzaro
After failing to force Arroyo out of Malacañang through People Power and impeachment, the political opposition and other anti-Arroyo factions are continuing to find ways to achieve their goal.
Now, they are calling on President Arroyo to cut short her term and pave the way for the holding of a snap election. That call has snowballed, with some religious leaders and even some Arroyo allies pushing for it as a way out of the political crisis.
Earlier reports said that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde favor the holding of a snap election in 2007 by amending the Constitution. However, the cardinal later denied the report, saying he favors the use of the legal process in changing the political leadership.
Former president Fidel Ramos, an Arroyo ally, also called on PGMA to make the supreme sacrifice to end the current political crisis by cutting short her term.
Well, the call is no different from asking her to step down. Still, no snap election can be held if the chief executive does not want to call one.
Arroyo’s political allies, however, prefer a graceful exit by amending the Constitution and shifting from the present presidential to parliamentary form of government. But Malacañang is not biting and stated that whatever move should be subject to a plebiscite, whose result the President will accept.
All the proposals, though, entail a lot of expenses.
For one, holding a plebiscite is like holding a regular presidential election. More so if a snap election will only be done after the result of a plebiscite shows that majority of the people don’t like Arroyo. That means we will be spending billions of pesos for the whole process.
Also, we have to amend the Constitution first before we can hold a presidential election between now and 2010, when Arroyo’s term expires. That is another costly exercise.
We cannot change the Constitution overnight, or resort to the so-called “bullet amendment” so we can hold a presidential election. If we amend the Constitution, it should not only involve one provision but a complete overhaul.
We don’t amend the Constitution suit to the personal interest of a few people. Rather, it should be for the greater majority of Filipinos.
What I am saying is that changing the political leadership is a very costly undertaking. It would entail the use of a big chunk of taxpayers’ money at a time when the country is coping not only with the political crisis but also economic turmoil. We even postponed the holding of the barangay elections this year for lack of funds.
Besides, we don’t have an assurance that whoever succeeds the President will be able to come up with a miracle.
So why don’t we just wait until Arroyo’s term expires? Perhaps, with all the political pressure exerted on her, she would be pushed to introduce reforms and work hard for our country and people.
(bgnalzaro@gmanetwork.com)
(October 26, 2005 issue)
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