Best practices

An expat asked me the other night why I was comparing the Philippines’ election system with that of the US.

The two systems admittedly have many glaring differences, starting with the Electoral College that most of us Pinoys don’t understand.

But our democratic system is patterned after America’s, including our system of government, Constitution and election process. Since we have adopted someone else’s system, why did we omit or miss out on many of the best practices?

Democracy didn’t end our feudal political system and all the plagues generated by patronage politics.

To this day, I’ve been told that the continuing hold on power and wealth by a miniscule fraction of the population is a major disincentive to job-generating foreign investments. Members of this elite group block legislation, regulation and policies that threaten their personal interests, even if those measures open up the economy and level the playing field for investors.

Can you blame Filipinos who envy Americans when their just re-elected president declares, “I believe we can keep the promise of our founding – the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or where you love – it doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white, or Hispanic or Asian, or Native American, or young or old, or rich or poor, abled, disabled, gay or straight – you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.”

Looking at America’s first black president, you know it’s not just victory rhetoric; Barack Obama is telling the truth.

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Never mind that the US elections showed a nation politically divided almost neatly in half. The healing process started immediately, with challenger Mitt Romney graciously conceding and Obama congratulating his rival for waging a good fight.

Even the closest presidential race in recent history, between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, was resolved through a peaceful process that was accepted by the Gore camp.

“We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply, and we care so strongly about its future,” Obama said shortly after his victory became known, referring to his challenger.

Again we can’t help wishing that we heard such pronouncements instead of accusations of cheating from losers in Philippine elections.

To be fair, accusations of cheating are not entirely baseless in this country, and we can’t blame our politicians for being disgraceful in defeat.

Considering how long we’ve heard complaints of poll fraud, however, we should wonder why we’ve taken our sweet time fixing what’s wrong.

We held on to manual voting (and the longest vote count in the world) for as long as we could because too many politicians benefited from the vote-rigging that was facilitated by the manual process.

In the 2010 presidential race, even if then elections chairman Jose Melo jumped the gun on Congress and announced, just hours after the polling centers closed, that Noynoy Aquino had won, lawmakers stood firm on their right to make the nation wait several weeks for the official canvass and proclamation of winners.

We can expect the same interminable wait in the 2013 elections. If we seem to be living in the medieval era in the age of cyberspace, we have lawmakers to thank.

There was another noteworthy portion in Obama’s victory speech: his reminder about the duty of citizens.

“The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America has never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government,” Obama said.

It’s a rewording of John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

For democracies, the message resonates today, as it did at JFK’s inaugural in 1961, and during the era of Lebanese-American writer Khalil Gibran, who wrote the original line in 1925.

It’s a message that we can internalize, if we want better politics, elections and a strong republic.

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FEEDBACK: Public Works Undersecretary Raul Asis reacted to my article on potholes along Roxas Boulevard:

“It is indeed true that potholes may have appeared after the occurrence of a heavy downpour during the months of June, July and August this year. However, rectification works were immediately done when weather improved. Secretary Rogelio L. Singson has already directed the DPWH-NCR Director and the concerned District Engineers to conduct routine inspection on the projects and require the contractors to do rectification works if needed during the one-year warranty period.

“Regarding the choice between asphalt pavement and concrete pavement for our national roads, please be informed that we are presently undertaking a re-evaluation of our national road repair methods to better suit actual field conditions. Concrete will be used in national roads that are prone to flooding or subjected to frequent passage of heavy trucks. Concrete will likewise be used when it is more economical than asphalt pavement in terms of life cycle costs.”