The missing link

At this time there is no more doubt that under our existing form of government and with the kind of electoral process we have, we cannot expect to change the rotten breed of politicians and political dynasties alternately ruling our country since we became an independent democratic republic. So far, our choices have been limited to the traditional politicians and their families or some unqualified popular personalities who have been exploiting the poor and uneducated voters comprising 90% of our population in order to acquire, retain or re-acquire political power through name recall, political patronage and dole outs of the ill gotten wealth they acquired once in power.

We have to accept the reality that in 2016, we will be electing the same kind of selfish, greedy and corrupt leaders who have caused and will continue to cause so much poverty and misery in this land. We have to endure the crooked and atrocious governance we have been enduring now and in the past, and for six more years after 2016. By that time in 2022 we will have hopefully found and put in place another system of government where we can elect honest, selfless, dedicated and competent public servants.

So right now, it is not really too early to look beyond the 2016 election. To be sure, there are indeed other seemingly more suitable forms of government we can study and consider to replace our existing Unitary Presidential system which we have found to be the real cause of the socio-political and economic morass now engulfing our country and people.

Most talked about right now is the Parliamentary System where the Executive and Legislative Departments are practically merged under a Prime Minister or Premier. If we consider that our present Chief Executive is so powerful that he/she practically controls the supposed independent Legislative Branch of government, the parliamentary system may really be what we need at this time. At least under this system, the buck-passing between the Executive and Legislative branches will be eliminated.

Then we can also consider the Federal system where the different regions in the country will have their own autonomous and practically independent executive, legislative and judicial branches. The main idea here is the decentralization of the government so that the Federal or Central government will have less supervision and control over the federal states. This seems to be more akin to the Basic Bangsa Moro government now pending in Congress. 

The Filipino Community in Alberta Canada composed of various clubs, organizations and Churches, through Mr. Guillermo Ancheta, however believe that the American democratic system may still work out in our country. They pointed out that when this system was transplanted here a very “critical and vital” component enshrined in the American Constitutional system, was omitted; namely, the “Primary Voting System.” So the change may just consist in the electoral process.

They pointed out that in the USA, the Primary Voting system precedes every national election where Americans choose candidates for president and vice president from among a number of nominees of the political parties. In the Philippines however, any interested presidential candidate, who has the billions to finance his election campaign, would just present himself before the voters without passing through any pre-qualifying system like the Primary Voting of the USA where the Americans choose and pre-qualify their presidential candidate before national election. The Primary Voting system therefore is seen here to be the “missing link” of the Philippine democratic system. According to them, this Primary Voting System (PVS) is what we direly need today in our Country’s democratic system.

Thus they suggested that our Constitution should be amended by way of “people’s initiative,” to install and adopt a Primary Voting System (similar to the American system). Under this system, (1) each Comelec-accredited political party shall submit to a PVS Board of Directors their nominees for president, vice president, senators and congressmen;  (2) the PVS board shall then select two or more best qualified nominees for every position from each political party after scrutinizing their personal background; (3) then those selected shall be submitted for voting by the Primary Voters consisting of select individuals from the “more responsible” sector of our society, namely, the first 100,000 top personal income taxpayers of the previous year with at least 4-year college degree all aged 40 years and above and those with post-graduate degrees, of all ages; (4) those selected by the Primary voters shall be the final candidates for president, vice president, senators and congressmen of each political party to be voted for by the entire electorate.  In order to entice qualified citizens for the top position of President and Vice President, the government shall provide appropriate budget for election campaign to each candidate running for such positions. The compensations for president shall also be raised to P30 million, p.a., vice-president to P5M p.a., senators to P10 M p.a., and congressmen to P5 M p.a, (or to any more appropriate compensation level).

“Today in our Country, we can have the missing “link or entities” installed into our government system, if only we the voters would want to and bold enough to work out for it. It’s our choice. So now, we have to think deep. We know the power that we voters have which we could utilize to help resolve the issues; namely, the “people’s initiative” to initiate and vote for an Amendment to the Constitution.

If and when the Primary Voting were adopted and the president and legislators voted through Primary Voting take the reins of government, the climate of corruption will morph into a sincere and fair-minded leadership, that will result in efficient and effective governance, and in robust economic growth which would benefit all sectors of Philippine society, particularly the “forgotten poorest of the poor,” they concluded.

At this stage in our country’s worsening situation, any suggestion is really worth considering if we really want any meaningful change.

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