The political structure under the 1987 Constitution has been in question since its critics have pointed out that it favors candidates who have the financial resources to run for public office and favors political dynasty’s who have name recall with voters.
There have been calls to amend the Constitution and revert back to a parliamentary government. Recall that the 1973 Constitution was the basis for the establishment of the Batasang Pambansa or the national parliament when elections were first held after martial law in 1978. The Prime Minister is the head of government while the President is the head of state. In the case of Ferdinand Marcos, he still retained his decree-making power even after the election of members of parliament.
President Rodrigo Duterte made federalism one of his campaign promises but was overtaken by the pandemic in his last two years in office which prevented any concrete action to amend the Constitution despite the creation of the 25-member Consultative Committee (ConCom) on December 7, 2016 for the review of the 1987 Constitution. Duterte appointed the first 22 members of the committee in January 24, 2018. The ConCom submitted its first federal constitution draft on July 9, 2018. The draft underwent several changes with the newer versions criticized; such as for omitting provisions which serves as safeguard against political dynasties and turncoatism, provisions on federated regions, and the removal of the position of Vice President. The draft was actually nothing more a minor modification of the existing Constitution. The bicameral legislature was retained but the number of Senators and Congressmen were increased in line with proportional representation. Wikipedia
There is also the question of the basis for the political division of the federal parliamentary system. The most practical and equitable would be by geography which would be Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao plus the autonomous regions and the National Capital Region. No comprehensive study has been undertaken by government and private think-tanks which would be objective as opposed to a commission with members who have vested interests in minor modifications which results in a more of the same politics.
However, there is a template in the Bangsamoro Organic Law which created the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. There would need to be some amendments for inapplicable provisions but the basic concept of a regional government and parliament are there.
Publicus Asia released their latest Senatorial survey and it is not surprising the that the magic 12 is made up of the so-called “Balik-Senado” candidates with the exception of Mark Villar, Chel Diokno, Gibo Teodoro and Raffy Tulfo. Within striking distance are Robin Padilla, JV Ejercito and Herbert Bautista.
The President has indicated that he will not be campaigning for the candidates under the PDP-Laban Senatorial slate though this might still change once he sees the survey results. Duterte has told the public that they should vote for the newbies instead of the veterans if change is to come to the country.
The twelve incumbent Senators are Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, Koko Pimentel, Nancy Binay, Bong Go, Ronald De La Rosa, Imee Marcos, Francis Tolentino, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla.
Assuming the trend holds and those in the survey’s magic 12 make it, the 12 pro-Administration Senators would be Cynthia and Mark Villar, Bong Go, Imee Marcos, Francis Tolentino, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda and Gibo Teodoro, which is minority of 12 against the opposition which will be composed of 8 Senators. This count assumes that Grace Poe and Raffy Tulfo remain as independents, which also make them the swing votes.
It is uncertain which side the Cayetano’s are on because Alan is running as an independent and supporting Isko Moreno for President. Grace Poe is supposedly supporting the Lacson-Sotto ticket. Joel Villanueva is running as an independent also but he looks set to rejoin the opposition again.
The numbers are not in favor of probable Marcos Presidency unless the Cayetano’s and other independents take the side of the administration when it comes to whoever is anointed to be the Senate President. Definitely it will not be the most senior Senators in either Lito Lapid or Bong Revilla. The most senior returning Senator who is a lawyer is Chiz Escudero though there is also Alan Cayetano who is also a lawyer but does not have the experience of Escudero. The best lawyer would be Gibo Teodoro who was a bar topnotcher and has a Master’s in Law from Harvard.
Frankly, the 24 Senators who would make up the Senate in a probable Marcos administration does not give the public much hope, particularly those who support charter change. This is probably why Secretary-General of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas Tom Lantion and General Counsel George Briones have said that BBM will only consider charter change three years into his term. Marcos will most likely wait to consolidate his voter base in order to elect Senators who will be more aligned with his federalism agenda.
To my mind, Congressman Rodante Marcoleta and former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo would be welcome additions to the Senate compared to those in the magic 12 who are “Balik-Senado” candidates.
The Senate is a major stumbling block to charter change because the 1987 Constitution is silent on its definition of the 3/4 majority vote of Congress to pass constitutional amendments with respect to Congress sitting as one body and voting so or separate as the Senate and House of Representatives and voting as such.
The most obvious indicator that the system is not working for the Filipino is the fact that there are now up and coming leaders climbing up the political ladder. The quality of our leaders is deteriorating because of the incestuous nature of our politics. The party-list system is being abused to the hilt. Initially it was the leftist-militant groups only but now, various vested interest groups are becoming more brazen in gaining a seat in the House of Representatives through the backdoor. This is also a drain on the financial resources of government and actually promotes corruption.
What is worst is we are electing legislators who do not have any idea of how to go about their job as lawmakers. It is all about the money and power that comes with the position. It is about time that this practice is stopped.
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