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Monday, November 07, 2005
Political dynasties 'will survive Charter change'
CEBU CITY -- Political dynasties will likely survive attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution, said a member of the presidential consultative commission tasked to come up with Charter change proposals.
Lawyer Pablo Garcia, former Cebu governor, told Sun.Star Cebu that any measure they could think of to address some families' stranglehold on power will counter the ideas of equal protection of laws and the right to public office.
"There's a strong clamor against political dynasties, but it would be unfair to the relatives. Suppose your first cousin is the governor, would this mean you can't run? It would be against democratic principles. The bottomline is that officials are elected by the people," he said.
The 1987 Constitution speaks of equal access to opportunities for public service and says the state will prohibit political dynasties. However, it left to Congress the task of defining political dynasties and enforcing the ban-which Congress has not done.
Different committees of the consultative commission that Malacañang tasked to draft the amendments will meet at 3 p.m. Monday.
Aside from the committees that held consultations in Cebu, the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms will also present its report to the 55-member plenary.
On electoral reforms, the two-party system is being pushed, as well as suggestions to address turncoatism, according to Garcia.
The parliamentary system and federal form of government also has popular support from those who took part in the public consultations.
The consensus, so far, for the term of office of the prime minister and the parliament is five years. The three-term ban for local officials will also be maintained.
The phenomenon of political dynasties can be traced to the US colonial rule, according to The Washington Post's Alan Sipress.
Miriam's bill
He has pointed out in a report that the Americans put in place a system of congressional districts that "encouraged individual families to build local fiefdoms, rather than an electoral list system that could have fostered more competition."
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in Senate Bill 1904, has proposed to put an end to family dynasties in politics.
Senate Bill 1904 prohibits the spouse and any relative of the incumbent elective official within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from seeking public office in the same province and in the same elections. It also bans those within the same degree of relationship from succeeding the incumbent official.
The divisiveness of too much politicking in government prompted President Arroyo to push for amending the Constitution. She had also said she was open to cutting short her term, which is until 2010.
However, the opposition said Arroyo's move was a just a ploy to divert public attention from allegations that she rigged last year's elections to secure her victory.
Inputs
Earlier, Garcia said that everything is still hazy with the committees, such as what will happen to the incumbent president when the parliamentary system is adopted.
He will propose today that they speed up the process, considering that the commission's existence will only be up to Dec. 15.
"I will propose that the chairman and the members will just sit down and draft the amendments. Anyway, they already have the feel of things, di nalang unta mag debate within the committee," he said.
He will also propose that the commission meet with the different leagues of local officials to gather inputs, especially on federalism that will affect the provinces most.
Garcia also sees it necessary for the commission to meet with the leaders of Congress to "avoid misunderstanding."
Since autonomous regions are being pushed, Garcia also disclosed that he will present his suggestion to have autonomous provinces so strong provinces and highly urbanized cities like Cebu will not be under any other bureaucratic body. (JPM of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(November 7, 2005 issue)
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