WHATEVER is passed in congress, there will be dissenting voices. So when this present congress with former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as speaker of the House of Representatives approved the draft Federal Constitution, sure enough howls of protest came from different directions.
As expected, the Philippine Daily Inquirer in its editorial was laced with so much sarcasm against the controversial draft. And to think this is only a draft. It has yet to pass the gauntlet. The senate and the people at large through a plebiscite.
I sometimes feel some newspapers assume there’s an ignorant public that their articles deserve appreciation. Editorial writers should at least point out that all “constitutions of countries are drawn differently in different societies and different periods of their history.”
I am old enough to know that past elections in the Philippines were held every four years and there were no term limits for all elected officials except for the president of the republic who can only seek one reelection of a four-year term. It was when congress instituted a three-term limit that started the growth of political dynasties in the country. After three terms, the wife or the adult kids despite of their lack of interest in politics are shoved inside the political arena.
And to top it all, they made it difficult for qualified but not moneyed individuals to participate in the elections. The elections are held every three years. Once elected, and still warming your seat on the second year in office, campaigns will start again. In the month of October filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) starts and you are again a candidate, a fair game to solicitations of favors. In the early years elections were held in the month of November. It was transferred to the month of May.
And the preceding months before polling time can be most expensive to a candidate. Pabasa during Holy Week, basketball tournaments, dance parties, Santacruzan and many others happened during the hustings. A candidate must stuffed his pockets with cash to donate to all these activities, otherwise say goodbye to your aspiration. Mamumura ka pa, kapag hindi ka nagbigay.
My personal view is to revert back to the old election system. It will at least increase even a bit the chances of not moneyed candidates who aspire to be in politics. The political dynasties grew by leaps and bounds since we adopted the prevailing system now. And it became a business enterprise for many political families all over the country.
They are raking it in. The Villars, Binays, Revillas, Lapids, Estradas and many, many more are all millionaires by American standard.
The adoption of the multi-party system is another culprit. If the political landscape is a garden, you can see very often butterflies changing their colors depending on the season. Today’s politicos seemingly are already immune to any feeling of embarrassment when they change political parties. They change for convenience.
It is baloney if you hear them saying they entered politics because they want to serve the public. The truth is they are there for the money and influence. At least many of them. They think they can take everybody for fools. They switched political parties as they change their neckties. And that will depend who is the tenant in Malacañang.
Now the question that we can profound is if our country will really move forward with the kind of “leaders” we have in our midst. Let’s get back to the old system.