Trust in our institutions

Why is President GMA winning against the Opposition, the Church, the Cory-Susan brigade and other would-be holders of our moral values? The knee jerk reaction is that people are tired of street protests. Most realize it is ephemeral no matter how passionate and well-intended. I think it is more than that.

I cannot ever forget what an American author said about the 1986 People Power Revolution. He said, ‘I’ve seen the poetry, but we must now wait for the prose’. Would we be up to more difficult tasks of the daily grind to bring about good governance? We were soon to find out that the soaring emotions and good intentions from those moments were not enough to sustain the serious job of reconstructing society after a long dictatorship. Human nature was at work. The struggle for spoils, the arrogance of power quickly overtook the demands for reform.

If the middle-classes refuse to be dragged to another EDSA, I don’t think it comes from either a satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the present administration. At first President GMA, like Cory, was not up to the faint but sure signs of the unfolding political maturity of Filipinos. The EDSA magic was gone and it couldn’t be revived no matter how hard the Opposition worked at it. Filipinos were learning not to put their trust in personalities. They were now looking to our institutions. That, I think is what saved President GMA. But President GMA quickly caught on when Cory failed to mount another EDSA. She would stick to the Presidency and strengthen the institution. She refused to resign and stood her ground – whatever was done or said against her.

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Former President FVR and Speaker JDV played significant roles in saving President GMA but again it would not have been enough if they relied on themselves. They pulled out the party weapon which made their action a success. Saving President GMA became a party affair – the Lakas CMD. I hope that lesson is not lost to President GMA. From hereon, she will have to use Lakas-CMD as the vehicle of unity of purpose. Some allies of President GMA may have other plans in mind but these are bound to fail and will not be in her interest. Kampi or any other party. Unfortunately President GMA’s fate from hereon will be decided by how well she strengthens the Presidency through Lakas-CMD party building. She will have to cooperate with party-mates from top to bottom as well as reining them in to create the party exemplar for parliamentary politics.

I recently met up with Senator Richard Gordon at the well-attended national day of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. (A Bedouin tent was even set up in the fabulous affair set up by Ambassador Wali and his staff) I came up to the senator to talk about charter change. He said – ‘we do not even have political parties, how can we shift to parliamentary government? Wait until I set up one.’ Ayan ‘I’ na naman si Gordon. I did have the heart to tell him he’s still mired in the personality politics of our presidential system. A party does not come about because he wishes to found one. It happens, as the Lakas-CMD happened because of people who are like-minded and have a single vision. It is a collective effort and that collective nature was at the fore in helping President GMA from being ousted. It must now tighten that consolidation and evolve to an even more mature party. That unity is best served if they realize they need each other in electoral contests they have to win. They are bound together by a program not personalities. In parliamentary government, it is the party that wins, not the persons. Moreover, it is the party that decides their candidate for prime minister.

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The beginnings of an Opposition party can also be gleaned by those who want President GMA removed. But its followers must do more than just want President GMA out. They must offer a program better than Lakas-CMD can offer. Whatever, the signs are there for a rival party to shape up. But they will have to come up with a program to merit the public’s attention and sympathy instead of being seen as troublemakers. Certainly, they can use the cards of youth and change. They also have to more prudent in selecting who to include in their party.

For example, they have not made a clear stand on constitutional reform. I know many of the Opposition who favor it but are being pulled back by their reckless companions. Take the recent House vote which struck down President GMA’s impeachment. It is no use flagging a dead horse. Instead of going to the Supreme Court, they are better off changing the system. If the opposition cannot stomach the House vote which struck down President GMA’s impeachment, then it is time they look into changing our institutions. They should begin strengthening a coalition party and be ready for a shift to parliamentary government. If at all, President GMA and her Lakas-CMD allies particularly Speaker JDV brilliantly worked the presidential system institutions to favor the Arroyo government. Ironically, Lakas-CMD party is in the forefront of charter change, not the Opposition. It better get its act together before the parliamentary elections take place in May 2007.

Speaker JDV told the Heritage Foundation that the debates on a concurrent resolution to shift to parliamentary government begin tomorrow. "We will finish the debates on the measures next month and then sit down with the Senate in a constituent assembly to propose Charter changes." Cooler heads in the Opposition ought to put their members in the direction of a worthy parliamentary struggle.

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Lastly nationalism does not preclude internationalism. Insular nationalism is an anachronism and will not help us survive in a globalized world. The brouhaha on the Venable contract only highlights just how unprepared we are for living in the 21st century. Nationalism means love of country and in today’s world that means being able to promote the well-being of its citizens in a community of nations. Without outside help Filipinos will remain in the stranglehold of a selfish oligarchy who resist change that would dilute their power. Strangely that is not how the case for nationalism is being marketed. Nationalism is used to protect the vested interests of an oligarchy that has been described by political analysts as one of the longest lasting oligarchies in Asia.

Internationalism is a genie out of the bottle. It will be futile to return to the past. The more prudent action is to make sure we meld the country’s national interests with other countries. Incidentally that is also true of charter change. Although it is a national effort, many federated or about to federate countries have formed a Forum of Federations not for them to interfere but to help spread information on how the federal principle has worked for them. As a convenor of the Citizens Coalition for Charter Change Now for a parliamentary federal government, several of us met with them in Brussels recently. Happily that means we are no longer merely at the mercy of vested interests with power and money to stop charter change.

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My e-mail is [email protected]