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Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Carvajal: Postponing the elections
By Orlando P. Carvajal
God only knows what kind of pressures they were in, what compromises went into this decision.
But because it is Christmas, a time for good will, I must give the Constitutional Commission (ConCom) the benefit of the doubt, that they had the best interests of the country in mind when they decided to propose a postponement of elections to 2010.
Still, I am constrained to say that this could be an error in judgment considering the mood of the times and the urgency of structural reforms. The level of trust our politicians enjoy among the populace is at an all time low. Hence, I am not be surprised that many others suspect that this is another political maneuver of the administration to squeeze whatever advantage they have from their entrenched position of power.
The Abat misadventure might be a bad joke from someone who, it would seem, is not quite all there. Still it was the exasperation of one man over the present political stalemate, the harmless eruption of a very minor volcano. But how many other exasperated adventurers will the present political situation produce?
And how many with better planning and resources would get a chance, because of the postponement, to more purposively vent their frustrations on the present exasperating political situation?
Constitutionality and legality aside, it would have been a terrific Christmas gift for the Filipinos if President Arroyo were to offer to step down in 2007 and for the opposition to accept to work on analyzing and giving their stand on the proposed structural changes.
The country badly needs structural reforms, for instance in the electoral system. To simply prove election fraud without working for serious electoral reforms is to want to be the one to cheat more effectively in the next elections.
Thus, I myself will not be voting again until the present system is overhauled and cheating effectively stopped. It is no use, otherwise.
The people know, surveys notwithstanding, that the oust-PGMA move is not for the common good at all. Its pursuit is for the selfish interest of the opposition and PGMA’s stiff defense of her position is all for self-preservation. Postponing elections would prolong the bickering, the sick soap opera we are treated to daily by our politicians.
Of course I realize that it would take a miracle for both parties to make a spontaneous offer to stop all bickering and instead buckle down to the work of coming up with the needed structural reforms. But it would have been worth asking for. It would have been worth it for the ConCom to try to work something out in this direction. It would’ve made for a perfect gift to Filipinos this Christmas. It could have been a miracle worthy of Christmas.
(December 21, 2005 issue)
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