(First of two parts)
When we do get around to changing the present Constitution, let us also simplify our political structure.
If we go federal, which is what suits this nation of tribes, and would truly devolve the over-concentration of political power in the center, which is Manila, then a constitutional convention should be called by the new president elected in May 9, 2016.
That elected Con-Con could then decide whether to go presidential, parliamentary, or a variant/hybrid thereof, and submit the same for ratification to our people. The new Constitution would have transitory provisions to ease the shift from the current system to another.
Representative democracy, to my mind, must be anchored on a strong political party system. The current insanity of having a presidential form with a multiplicity of parties has made political parties irrelevant. Just witness how these “parties” have cobbled their senatorial slate, and see what I mean. Flags of convenience I have labeled our political parties in a previous article on this paper. Nabubuhay pag malapit na ang eleksyon. Nagpapagamit sa kung sino ang may ambisyon.
We used to have a two-party system. Not that there was any major policy or ideological difference between the Nacionalista and the Liberal parties, but at least they served to winnow the chaff from the grain. To run for an exalted position in government, one had to go through a party convention both at the local and national levels.
Except for the position of president, there were no term limits. So there were congressmen elected by their districts as many as five or six consecutive terms of four years each, chosen repeatedly by their parties, because of good performance or wide perception thereof. Senators like Laurel, Recto, Tañada, Puyat, Tolentino, Paredes, Primicias, and other legendary lawmakers were repeatedly renominated by their parties, and repeatedly elected by the people.
Nobody called them dynasts. And party conventions did not choose an unqualified wife or unqualified son or daughter to replace a long-elected leader.
Neither did we see a plethora of celebrities in public office. The convention would not allow a movie star with few if any credentials for high office to be a candidate. The national convention was made up of incumbent legislators, incumbent local officials, and party leaders of generally qualified credentials. “May mga karapatan,” who would not brook choosing “mga walang karapatan.”
Sure, there was wheeling and dealing, and delegates to the national party convention were wooed with “gifts” in some instances. But nonetheless, they chose their party candidates seriously. And senatorial candidates represented ethno-linquistic regional categorization. Invariably, there was at least an Ilocano, a Pampango, a Tagalog, a Bicolano, an Ilonggo, a Cebuano, a Waray, a Christian from Mindanao, and a Muslim from Mindanao in the Senate. Now there is no Muslim in the Senate of 24 republics, and there has been no Waray since Decoroso Rosales (NP), was elected in the 50s. A majority of our senators grew up and live in Metro Manila. Then, we would elect 24 senators for six-year terms every two years, and a president and vice-president every four years, with one re-election allowed. Governors, mayors and other local officials would be elected in mid-term elections, separate from the election of the top national officials.
The Marcos Constitution of 1973 created a quasi-parliamentary system, where, when he thought he was ready, he “relinquished” dictatorial powers in an “election” called in 1981, as a nationally-elected president with a parliament and a cabinet headed by a prime minister. To some extent, it gave us a hybrid, similar to the French system where the president is elected by the nation at large, and he “chooses” a prime minister ratified by the National Assembly to run the day-to day affairs of government, while the president ran defense, foreign affairs and other highly sensitive policy matters.
The Cory Constitution of 1987 reverted us to the pre-martial law presidential system but with a multi-party system akin to parliaments. It also enshrined a unitary form of government— everything was Manila-centric.
Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel authored a Local Government Code which gave some revenue-flexibility, such as in the internal revenue allotments to local government units. While this was a step in the right direction towards recognizing that we are a nation not only of islands but distinct ethno-linguistic cultures, it also helped perhaps unwittingly, to foster the perpetuation of political dynasties. Because there were IRAs which could be hefty, and local revenue-generation through real estate and business taxes, financial autonomy promoted dynasties, abetted by term limits.
Instead of a good mayor or governor serving for as long as his constituents wanted, he would pass on the position to family members, regardless of whether they had brains, or the disposition to serve. Some did this to protect the gains they achieved in nine years of three terms; some did it only because of power and business, and got themselves and their kin continuously elected by guns, goons and gold.
If we had a functioning political party system, and not mere flags of convenience utilized by personal ambition, this situation would not pass. The party would choose the “best and brightest” or the “most fit” in a convention of peers, and not by the dictate of the “owner” of the party, whether national (as in NP, LP, NPC, PDP, etc.) or local, of which there are some 260 nationwide, excluding party-list groups.
So what ought to be done?
(To be continued)