As we have pointed out in our past articles, the political structure is what prevents the Philippines from unlocking its full potential in economic terms. All Constitutions, from the 1935 to the 1987, have been restrictive with reference to the economic provisions. It limits the entry of foreign investors which is one reason why Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have been getting more foreign direct investments compared to us.
Aside from this, there is also the lack of infrastructure, which has been addressed by the Duterte administration, high power and labor costs, red tape and corruption which have all been cited by foreigners as reasons why they would rather take their money to countries where they do not have to face the same obstacles.
A federal parliamentary system was one of the campaign promises of Rodrigo Duterte but there was not much he can do except create an inter-agency task force. Six years would have been enough time but with his having to contend with the Marawi siege in the first year of his Presidency and dealing with the opposition noise over the drug war, he never had the chance to push for charter change even after the 2019 midterm election. The onset of the pandemic in 2020 rendered any move moot.
Now that the pandemic is transitioning to the endemic stage, there is the opportunity to put the issue to Congress again. However, the Senate is the main stumbling block because Senators have taken the stand that any amendment to the Constitution with Congress sitting as a Constituent assembly would have them voting separately from the House of Representatives and that any amendment would require a 3/4 majority to pass.
The template for federalism would be the Bangsamoro Organic Law. The cost of the transition would be dependent on the composition of the federal regions. The most convenient and logical would be by major island groups which would result in four federal regions; Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, with the exception of the BARMM and the addition of the federal region for Western Mindanao Muslims and the National Capital Region.
The question now is, how to get the Senate’s cooperation when its previous members have steadfastly opposed the abolition of the upper chamber for consolidation into a national parliament. It is thus important to elect Senators who are for the national interest and not mostly for their own self-preservation. Think of how legislation could be formulated and passed faster if Cabinet members were appointed from members of parliament. There would be immediate accountability. A government which has failed or become unpopular could be replaced immediately through a no-confidence vote. There would be less political theatre where every investigation becomes a television show in aid of reelection. A parliamentary system would allow the development of future leaders with the competent educational background and experience in both the Executive and the Legislative similar to what our ASEAN neighbors have in place.
One only has to look at the quality of the candidates running for national office to realize that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of the availability and quality of our leaders. Of the Senators, Gringo Honasan, Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito and Alan Cayetano are all returning Senators who were termed out last 2019 or even earlier.
Not one of them has indicated the need for structural reforms as part of the economic recovery strategy from the disruption caused by the pandemic. It is, sorry to say, business as usual for them. It does not augur well for the average Filipino if this issue will not be addressed because it impacts the prospects for the future of the citizens who are not inclined to work or do not qualify for jobs abroad.
Even the President has advised the public to consider voting for neophyte Senatorial candidates, mostly from his slate, whom he has endorsed, though some of them are also returnees such as Gringo Honasan and JV Ejercito.
The neophytes who would qualify based on their educational background and experience would be limited to Greco Belgica, Salvador Panelo, Rodante Marcoleta, Gilbert Teodoro, Manny Pinol, Harry Roque, Minguita Padilla and Silvestre Bello. This only a total of eight. It speaks volumes when you cannot even come up with a complete list of twelve to round out your Senate picks which only confirms the shallowness of the bench of political talents.
The same is true with the House of Representatives. Since the 90s, there has not been much rising political talent who have been going up the political career ladder. Duterte went straight from Mayor to President. His case was an exception because he did not need the experience of being a Senator to understand how government works. But not all are created equal so it cannot be said that Isko Moreno qualifies on the basis of his political career where he will only complete his first term as Manila Mayor on June 30. It used to be that the House of Representatives was where would be Senators gained experience in the complexities of the legislation but not anymore. The lower house is also being bastardized by those who are taking advantage of the party-list system to gain seats through the backdoor. This is one of the main reasons why we have less rising stars going up the political ladder. Mediocrity has become the norm rather than the exception.
If the next six years is going to be productive for the next President, who at this point looks to be Bongbong Marcos, he will need the cooperation of the Legislative to bring forth his reform agenda. Marcos is running under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas whose advocacy is the adoption of the federal parliamentary system. It is up to the electorate to decide which Senators they will be voting for whose agenda would be more or less, in line with the vision that they have for themselves and for their children in the future.
There is opportunity in crisis but we cannot take advantage of the opportunities if we do not have visionary leaders who understand what it will take to get us there. The next six years is crucial because the work started by Duterte is not yet done. It would be a shame if it goes to waste if we do not have the legislators who share his vision in place.
コメント