THERE are currently 238 geographical district-elected representatives plus 59 party-list reps elected nationwide by a proportional system in the House of Representatives. Their salaries should be connected with the growth or decline of the General Domestic Product. After all, productivity depends on a large extend on the quality of the laws that they make or do not make.
Section 10, Article VII of the Puno draft constitution reads: “No increase in compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the full term of all the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives approving such increase. Only reelectionists will profit from such law.
Section 5 (a), Article VII of the Puno draft constitution reads: “The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than four hundred (400) members...
Thus the percentage of Party-list representatives will be augmented from 20% to 40%; thus there will be 240 district-elected and 160 nationwide-elected representatives in the prospected Federal Assembly. The salaries alone would be a considerable burden on the tax-payers.
Where are cuts possible without drawbacks to the common good of the people?
With the creation of regional assemblies, the present party-list representatives could have more influence in pushing through their single issues. Currently, they have no program for the development of the nation, they have no specialized debaters on national governance, etc. Theirs is a limited advocacy.
The representatives of geographical units like Ako Bicol, An Waray, Arangkada San Joseno of Bulakan, Asenso Manileño, Kalinga, Kusug Tausug, etc. have a much greater chance to advocate their targets in the respective regional parliaments.
Section 15 (c) of Article XVI (Social Justice: Role and Rights of People’s Organization) reads: People’s organizations are bona fide associations of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership, membership and structure. That is perfectly democratic.
The salaries for regional legislators can be a notch lower than those for federal legislators, but they will be considerably more numerous. The salaries shall be shouldered by the region so that there is an incentive for the voters to elect competent reps who are worth their money.
Section 5 and 5 (a), Article XI of the Puno draft constitution (Federated Regions: The Legislature of the Federated Regions) partly reads that “half of the membership shall come from each province, highly urbanized city, and independent chartered city and half representing political parties through proportional representation. Each province, highly urbanized city, and independent chartered city shall have one representative elected by their respective voters.
I think 50 – 50 is fair. The numbers will differ from region to region and roughly depend on the population. (to be continued)
(Erich Wannemacher, German expat, Lapu-Lapu City)