I agree with some Senators that convening Congress into a Constituent Assembly requires the concession of both the Senate and House of Representatives. There should be a dialogue between the leadership of both houses in order to avoid further legal disputes. The Lower House cannot brush aside the Senate because the 1987 Constitution is very explicit as to the composition of Congress, i.e., the Senate and House of Representatives. Senate President Manny Villar and two other influential senators, Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Edgardo Angara have expressed openness and willingness for a Charter Change. This is a good sign for the country both politically and economically. If the Charter Change materializes, we’ll definitely have a new form of government hence abolishing the Senate. This is probably the whole reason why some Senators have been reluctant for a Cha-Cha (no more honorary titles and pork barrel privileges for them).
First thing first, if we adopt a
Parliamentary form of government then qualifications for membership have to go
with it. We have had enough ignoramuses in Congress and we cannot afford to
have the same in the Parliament. The Constitution has rigid qualifications for
members of the Constitutional Commission (COMELEC, Ombudsman and Audit) and the
Supreme Court yet the educational qualification and experience required by law
for those running for President, Vice President and Congress are very
elementary. As a result, we have had idiots in Congress and high school drop
out in the Executive department. The framers of the Constitution should fix
this problem and mandate into law the qualifications for members of the
Parliament.
We should get rid of multi-party system
and the party-list representatives because these make our political stage
crowded with so many billboards and clown. A two-party system is a good one so
as to cultivate the culture of loyalty within the political party. The
party-list is a waste of taxpayers money and exercise of blind voting on the
part of the electorate. The voters don’t really know whom they’re voting for
since they’re casting a vote on the party/organization. We have so many
organizations lobbying for their agenda in Congress. With the party-list
system, a couple liberal groups have been formed who mostly use the streets to
advance their neo-conceptof patriotism (those who hates American flag in Subic
and Clark but nonetheless love Ralph Lauren, Escada, Colehaan, Ford and BananaRepublic).
The party-list is probably responsible for the birth of neo-nationalists (those
who abhor the idea of land ownership by foreign nationals). The party-list
congressmen (although not all) are of the same color with our elected and
district congressmen so we are just actually adding a bunch of trash into the
hall of Congress.
The amended Constitution should provide
the term limit of the members of parliament as well as fix the age requirement
of parliamentarians (our lawmakers are no longer congressmen but
parliamentarians). This will ensure that no lawmaker can be in the parliament eternam. I don't
think anybody wants to see some wheelchairs in the Parliament. Let's give the
young and energetic a chance to serve the people.
The federalization of the provinces is an
excellent idea by Madam Glo (2006 SONA) and we should go for it. But are we
going to have national and provincial taxes too? Then nothing will be left in
the paycheck of our average workers.
Some suggested that there should be a
ceremonial President and I beg to disagree. It is a waste of money and a
nuisance leadership will only create more politicking in our government. If we
opt for a President, are we going to retain the office of the Vice-President
too? This is stupid, why do we have to waste our time and money by electing
these two monkeys who will do nothing but sit in their butt while receiving a
huge amount of money representing their salaries and allowances. This idea is
bizarre and ridiculous. A poor country cannot have so many overhead in its
treasury. We cannot elect Her Royal Highness La Gloria as queen; she is
too short and small for the crown and throne.
In a nutshell, the members of the
Constituent Assembly (if this is the method through which we are to amend the
Constitution) must consider the following:
1. Abolish the Office of the President
and Vice-President after the Prime Minister has been elected by the Parliament;
2. Set the qualification, age and term
limit of the members of the Parliament;
3. Adopt a two-party system instead of
multi-party system and abolish the party-list representatives.
After fixing all these, the Parliament
has to consider revising our criminal, civil and economic laws. There are so
many things to be done and we don’t have the luxury of time for too much
political debate.
Lets get down to business to save our
mother country from economic malady. When our economy and the government are
finally stable and we are no longer the sick man of Asia then we all could
finally say, How nice it is to live and retire in my own country.
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