What now after the polls?

The election is over except for the final tally of the votes at the national level, that is, for the positions of senators, vice-president and president. Whatever will be the ultimate result, we appeal and call on the people, every Filipino, to accept the will of the majority for that is the very essence of democracy for which our country stands for and lives by.

While we can understand and emphatize with the sentiments of others, especially the losing candidates and their supporters, that arouses in them suspicions of cheating and manipulations of the ballot owing to the slowness if not lethargy in the count, their passions must give way to the bigger picture of considering the welfare and good of the country and people. Indeed, cries and accusations of electoral fraud, unsubstantiated by solid proof and hard evidence, is a big disservice to the nation as the only conceivable agenda thereon is to cast doubt upon the credibility of the election. Woe to the Comelec that with its delayed count has given armory to those who wish to undermine our democratic processes. We can only watch and envy India which, having similarly undergone national elections at about the same time as ours, was able to complete the election count of 380 million of its voters in just two days from the poll date. The biggest democratic country in the world can thus now focus on the serious business of nation building while our own Comelec is still counting the votes for our senators, not to mention that the canvassing of the Certificates of Canvass for the positions of vice-president and president has not even begun.

In this last political exercise of ours one utterly flawed and unjust situation stands out: That is, an incumbent president running for re-election. While the United States of America, the greatest democracy on earth, allows for a two-consecutive term presidency, theirs is a mature country with fixed and respected checks and mechanisms that forbid and dissuade the incumbent from using the awesome powers of his office to advance his personal ambition at reelection. Richard Nixon chose to learn this lesson the hard way.

In the Philippines, half a globe away, the picture is entirely different. Our election history is rife with events whereat the incumbent president, running for reelection, misused and abused the resources of the government to attain a personal end. Marcos, of course, is the ultimate example of how the vast powers of the presidency can be contorted to suit a lust for lifetime power.

And so, when the strongman was deposed, the 1987 Constitution saw fit to limit the term of the president to a one-time six-year office. Never again is the lofty post of the presidency to be used and abused for political perpetuation in power. That is the spirit and the letter of our fundamental law.

But then our erstwhile vice-president assumed the highest post of the land after EDSA Dos to serve the unexpired portion of the term of the deposed president. Then the actuations of an official president and a candidate campaigning for reelection shifted to a foggy blur. The conviction of Juan dela Cruz that his taxpayer’s money was being used to fund a private campaign became not unfounded. What the Constitution so wisely sought to avoid by an incumbent president running for reelection became broken in both its spirit and intent.

Perhaps, it is precisely with the realization that the incumbent running for reelection had the awesome, if unfair, disposition of the powers of the highest office and the vast resources of the government and the bureaucracy, not to mention being the Commander-in-Chief, that the opposition was drawn to putting up a sheerly popular actor to neutralize this great disadvantage. But the opposition remained divided and that is another story.

To obviate a repetition of the "incumbent for reelection" dilemma, we strongly propose that the Constitution be amended to, among others, include a restriction, similar to that imposed upon the one-time six-year president, for any person who succeeds into the presidency to himself or herself be prohibited from seeking public office for the position he or she currently holds – the Office of the President.

Be that as it may, as we are faced with a fait accompli, we now call on the nation to forget the bitter divisions of the elections just passed, to bury the hatchet, and to look and move forward as a united people braving their destiny. This process of unifying the country, while painful for some especially the losing candidates, is the highest level of patriotism that every Filipino must heed if we are yet to transform our country into a better Philippines for ourselves and our children.

We salute then Raul Roco for his statesmanship and selflessness in graciously conceding to the inevitable. He stands 10 feet tall for mounting an issues-oriented campaign and bringing his platform of government to the people despite his party’s lack of election resources and a physical body that could not keep up with his indomitable spirit. He who has with finality lost his presidential bid has valiantly won a secure and respected place in our country’s history. Ping Lacson is no less laudable in his call for genuine reconciliation. How we wish the rest to be as statesmanly.

To the eventual winner, there is no time to gloat in celebration. Rather, no time should be wasted in forthwith reaching out to all the political parties, groups and sectors of society to gain their confidence, support and cooperation. The incoming regime must sincerely back-up its reconciliatory overtures by accommodating even the losers and their supporters into a government of unity by tapping likewise their talents, expertise and experience at good and effective governance.

Unity must be meant for all, must be the crusade of the people, and must be the tireless mission of our leaders. Unified we can begin the serious business of nation-building. We can begin building our roads, highways, bridges, seaports, airports, schools, hospitals, markets, power, water and telecommunications facilities. We can begin producing food, shelter and clothing for our people. We can begin creating businesses for our entrepreneurs and jobs for our labor force. We can begin transforming for the better our values as a people. United, we can begin.

You may write your comments / suggestions at 15/F Equitable Tower, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City or through e-mail at HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]"

(Author’s note: We beg the indulgence of our leaders who are at times tasked to read a lengthy piece. The purpose of our writings, however, being advocacy and not merely commentary in nature, compels us to dissect a given problem, analyze its causes and effects, and offer studied solutions. The length of the article should be irrelevant to such an approach.)