Metro Manila almost looked like it was Good Friday last Sunday. (There were few people in the streets. I suppose that’s how it was in most parts of the country. Everybody was glued to the TV sets to watch Manny Pacquiao pulverize Mexican Erik Morales with a TKO in the 10th round 10 in Las Vegas. After savoring Pacquiao’s victory the people returned to their normal activities brimming with pride. Mabuhay ka Manny Pacquiao. You have united the Filipino people who were splintered by ugly politics – at least for now.
So much is at stake with the concerted efforts by administration lawmakers to push for Charter change. If Cha-cha advocates succeed, we would throw out the 1987 Constitution which has espoused people empowerment and participative democracy. The greater autonomy of local governments, sectoral representation in Congress, the role of non-government and people’s organizations in development are but some examples of strides in people empowerment. But today, we are sadly tending back to an authoritarian regime ruled by political elites. Instead of the people’s capacity to progress, foreign investments are being programmed for our economic survival. Gone is the people’s own capacity to progress.
Government has again ordered its military and police to be on red alert after the escape of four (or five) Oakwood mutineers. What is government afraid of? A coup attempt? That’s remote. It may instead be facing unreal manufactured fears. Therapists help people by leading them to know their fears. But it is tragic when these people, also known as patients, hide their real fears in a maze of insecurity and anxiety. Until the government deals frontally with what genuinely causes it to be afraid, then it shall continue to walk in fear.
In a system of democratic self governance, it is wrong to leave our fate to politicians. We should not be mere “seekers of service” as if voting politicians in public offices comprises all our responsibility to nation-building. There is therefore the call for political activism by which we can feel better only when we involve ourselves in community, local and national development.
We, therefore, believe that there is untruth to the spin that we need to open our economy 100 percent for foreign investments. Singapore, Taiwan, China are great countries today not because of foreign intervention but due to native crafts, industry and technology. In our case, Filipinism is the key to our achieving a first world status as a nation.
We recall the kind of leadership Franklin Delano Roosevelt showed, as he watched over the national psyche in a period of economic despair and world war. He reminded fellow Americans that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. This way, President Roosevelt made Americans less vulnerable to their enemies. In our country today, we look for such leadership.
Members of the House committee on constitutional amendments agreed to adopt its own consolidated draft for constitutional reform. What happens to the draft prepared by the Consultative Commission and sent by the President to the Lower Chamber? According to Rep. Teodoro Locsin, Jr., it will be a “library book” relegated to the House library. A very expensive library book indeed, considering that the Con-com project cost P10 million.
Many governments which are called parliamentary are not parliamentary at all. Such is the case with Latin-American and African states where parliamentary governments are ruled by military dictatorships. The former Communist governments of central and Eastern Europe were parliamentary in form, but power was effectively in the hands of a party or a party leader. In the Philippines, we may be adopting a parliamentary system in which a president and a ruling party of traditional politicians rule the nation as they wish. Gone are the days of representative government, since even elections shall be a sham through the use of the peso, prestige and power.
Advocates of Charter change tell us that French model shall be adopted. Seemingly, this model is close to our presidential system since the president is elected by a direct vote of the people. In the French system, the president has substantive powers such as (a) appointing the prime minister (b) dominating foreign relations policies (c) dissolving (once-a-year) the National Assembly or the parliament proper and (d) vast emergency powers.
We are informed that under transitory provisions, it has been proposed that PGMA shall continue her term until 2010 to be assisted by a prime minister. . Shall PGMA also have legislative powers similar to former President Marcos during the 1973 parliamentary government? Shall the prime minister be a mere stamp pad as was the case during those dark days? Shall we then expect dark years until the end of the decade?
While government is caught in a web of political controversies, there are good developments from other sectors. In the transport sector, a new MRT line comes to light as there is news about an American firm offering to develop a dual tract guide way from Sta. Mesa to Taytay. The new MRT route paves the way for further extension up to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. In an era of modern mall transit, it’s good to know that bad politics need not deter infrastructure development. And as MRT lines rises, we know economic development is not far behind.
Soon, the Pasig River will cease to show the stark realties of a peasant economy – death of marine life, disposal of industrial and domestic waste, illegal setters along its banks. A waterfront proposal has opened the possibility of using the historic river as an efficient transport system canal. Envisioned are promenades, parks, riverside pubs, cafes and restaurants. Through a system of travel, the Pasig River can provide faster travel time and cheaper cost of commuting. Coastal communities can also benefit through an efficient system of goods delivery using an alternate river route.
An obsession with national security may simply be indicative of a survival instinct that knows no respect even for public trust and confidence. This reminds us of the parable of a woman who thinks nothing about using the walls of her home to supply firewood in her house burner. As the house grows draftier, the woman takes more and more wood from the walls to make up for lost heat. Soon she destroys her home. In our present situation, an alarm should now be sounded against the threat of self-destructive governance. Selflessness (“the supreme sacrifice”) has been invoked by former presidents Aquino and Ramos. They simply want to save the nation from an impending disaster.
