We need to change this old bus called RP

House Speaker Prospero Nograles announced that charter changes (cha-cha) is gaining ground in Congress with some 160 Congressmen signing up to form a Constituent Assembly (Conass). Out of the 262 members of Congress, the magic figure to achieve two-thirds votes is 197 votes. Therefore Speaker Nograles is shy of only 37 votes. Nograles pointed out that the two major stumbling blocks to cha-cha is the Liberal Party (LP) and the Nationalist People’s Party (NPC).

One favorite Presidentiable of ours is Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas of the Liberal Party. I have talked with him about a shift to a Federal system. He still needs a lot of convincing. The problem is that, while he is admittedly a Bisaya from Capiz, he was raised and bred in the confines of Imperial Manila and thus, he thinks, breathes and represents Imperial Manila. I recently talked with his close aide who asked me what Mar ought to do to improve his ratings. Before I could answer him, he said, “Would marrying Korina help?” This only shows to you that our politicos want to impress on our people their “showbiz” mentality, hoping that this would translate to votes.

The reason why Mar Roxas isn’t making any waves despite his Mr. Clean or Mr. Palengke image is that, he doesn’t seem to be on the side of anything! In 30 days we shall see a new President in the United States. If Sen. Barrack Obama wins, it is because he is promoting a change that the American people can believe. Who among the Presidentiables in this country is selling change? Nobody! Everyone from Sen. Mar Roxas, Sen. Manny Villar, Sen. Richard Gordon, Bayani Fernando to Sen. Loren Legarda are only selling themselves as the next President of the Philippines. They are not selling something that would change this country into a better-run nation. They are simply selling themselves!

The Philippines is akin to a bus, brand new in 1946 when we got Independence from the United States. It ran smoothly and efficiently, which is why we were second only to Japan. But 62 years later, the Philippine bus is old, decrepit, broken and could hardly move. Worse, when it was new, it only had a few passengers. Today we have passengers clinging to the roof! Yet the major question that the passengers want to ask is, “Who will be the next driver of our bus?”

What this country needs is not a new bus driver, but a new bus! This is why I support even a Conass, as long as it leads this nation to the path of Federalism. To achieve the goal of Speaker Nograles and get those 37 needed votes, there are only two people to talk to - Sen. Mar Roxas of the LP or Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. I have asked Sec. Teodoro to support Federalism and he told me that while he believes in it, he couldn’t support it while he is DND chief as it is a political issue. Once we have a champion for Federalism then we can move things quickly. Let us hope that either Sen. Roxas or DND Secretary Teodoro’s influence would create that critical mass that would allow us to make that paradigm shift to Federalism.

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I fully support the ordinance proposed by Councilor Hilario Davide III that prohibits protesters from wearing masks during strikes or demonstrations. I believe that this law should also cover motorcycle riders and all others who wears masks like during a protest rally or even a political gathering. The only justification why someone should be allowed to wear a mask in public is because he wants to hide his ugly face!

That latest strike in a department store proves what we’ve always believed for many years that when there is strike in a company, the reality is, only a few disgruntled employees would be so indignant to make their protest known by walking with a placard in front of their office building. But will their fellow workers or the rank and file follow? Usually, they do not. Some are too scared while others just don’t care.

Hence labor unions have been employing tactics like bringing in non-employees with the strikers. All they need to do is put masks on their faces. They may belong to the labor union, but they do not belong to the company that is on strike. Wearing masks is also the method used by the so-called “Legal Fronts” allied to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). They hold mass action or protest rally usually in the middle of the street to achieve maximum disturbance. Why do these people wear masks? Isn’t it just too obvious? For all we know, these masked men are wanted by police or military intelligence. People wearing masks as Mayor Tomas Osmeña says, shows their insincerity and therefore they should not be tolerated in this free society of ours.