Why we need to change our Charter soon?

There is no doubt that those who belong to the Yellow Aquino Regime have always been against the administration of President ” Duterte and have lately been spreading news that the President was ill and had to fly to Singapore as his health was deteriorating. Of course these people are hopeful that the President would succumb to his illness so that Vice-President Leni Robredo can take over the Presidency.

?However they did not realize that at this point in time, the Supreme Court (SC) must finally decide as to who won the manual recount of the votes for the Vice-President, which has been delayed and delayed for no reason. So is it really VP Leni Robredo or Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr.? Again, this is another proof that the Smartmatic collusion with the Comelec has to be totally investigated. Funny with former Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista accused by his wife of corruption has left the country yet not a single Congressman or Senator has called for the extradition of Bautista from the US. Strange, but this is another story!

Meanwhile more than a week after rumors circulated that the President is sick, President Duterte for the first time publicly disclosed the other day that his doctor advised him to stop drinking as his Barrett’s esophagus is nearing stage one cancer. Nearing stage one cancer? Upon further check, it turns out that the United States’ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases defines Barrett’s esophagus as a condition wherein the tissues lining the esophagus are replaced with or have turned into tissues similar to the lining of the intestine. It seems that people with Barrett’s esophagus are more likely to develop a rare type of cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, according to the US Institute. So it has not happened yet!

So technically what we are getting from this sort of medical report is that Pres. Duterte has not stopped drinking for a man of his age and could end up having stage one esophageal adenocarcinoma cancer. This is not something to worry about as he doesn’t have cancer yet and he has only two years to go on his Presidency. But this gives the President a good time to reflect on his achievements… and above all, look ahead to prepare for the after life because we are all headed in that direction anyway.  If the President gets stage one cancer, he can always go to MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas for treatment.

In the meantime, I would like to believe that the President should now look into what he needs to do to help improve this country after he leaves the presidency within two years. Perhaps the next best thing is for the Republic of the Philippines to shift into a Parliamentary form of government with a unicameral Legislature. Now while I’m really for a shift to a Federal form, I would like to suggest that a Parliamentary form should be prioritized before moving towards a Federal form of government.

However we should never do this under a Revolutionary government as suggested by a few people who want Pres. Duterte to head this. But an honest-to-goodness Charter change is really in order and we can do this in the next two years when we are still under the Duterte Administration. I hope our readers have not forgotten that our form of government today is a Presidential, but with political parties that are better suited for a Parliamentary form of government. This is why we must have charter change ASAP!

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Last Aug.18, 2020 I wrote a column asking if our Legislature would support our idea that both Congress and the Senate would allow themselves to cut their salaries and allowances in half so that they too can feel how most Filipinos who are out of work because of the lockdown. However, as of two weeks ago, we never got any reply for anyone in the Legislature. However I did get some letters supporting this idea and allow me to reprint one letter.

“Hello Mr. Bobit Avila. I liked this article because I had been thinking the idea of requesting our Congressmen and Senators to donate a percentage of their salary and allowances to help our cash-strapped government before you came up with your article. Yes I think they are the only sector of our society not very much affected by loss of jobs therefore loss of money and livelihood during this pandemic stage.

Please may I suggest that you post this issue in social media (Facebook) to awaken the Filipino citizens to support us in pushing these honorable (?)  gentlemen to do this noble act. Count me in and be assured that I will circulate to my friends and support this endeavor. Thank you and Mabuhay kayo!” Julie M. Laya

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