The boy who cries wolf!

Many of us are familiar with the story of a shepherd boy who got bored being all alone in the fields taking care of his sheep. One day a bright idea popped up how to get people to come to him. He ran around at the edge of the town crying: “Wolf! Wolf!” Immediately people came to him wanting to help, only to find out there was no wolf. The boy was pleased to suddenly have a big company. He gave excuses how the wolf ran away.  Another day he again cried out louder: “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” Again the good people rushed out to be of help. Again they found out that there was no wolf. Again excuses from the boy. A third time, the boy did the same and again the people came, to their dismay. One day, a wolf did really appear. The boy was frantic. He cried his heart out; “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” Nobody came. The boy stood helpless as the wolf ravaged his flock.

The lesson is: one cannot always fool the people. People are wise. Excuses will not always stand. When the real need comes, nobody will believe anymore, to the great misfortune of the one whose speech cannot be trusted.

Transfer this to our political scene. Can we still believe the President who says that he will not extend his term? That he will resign if federalism is enacted? That he has no intention to declare a revolutionary government? That he will not be a dictator?

He said on the months before the 2016 elections that he would not run for president, that he had no intention to be one. But all the while this was all part of the script for his candidacy for the presidency. He had boldly declared during the presidential debates that if he does not solve the traffic of Manila in three months he would resign. It is now more than one year and the traffic has gone worse. He pledged to return the coconut lobby money to the farmers if he becomes president. Up to now the coconut farmers have yet to get the benefits from the money taken from them more than 40 years ago. Several times he said that ENDO is wrong and he would take it out. He is already more than a year in office and the workers suffer still ENDO and there is no positive sign that it will be taken away. We can go on and on… from the peace talks, to ending to the drug problem, to the sending out of the Americans, to the ending of the Balikatan, etc. So much bold talk, but they are all bubbles! He proves himself to be a very TRAPO politician, shamelessly promising what he cannot, or does not want, to deliver once he is in position of power.

So can we still believe him that he has no further intention in the presidency than to serve the people, that he will step down, that he will resign? He is the boy who cries “wolf!” His excuses are running out. The people are getting restless. Their situation has not changed in spite of the “high ratings” and “high” GDP. Unless this government shows concrete results that the poor and ordinary people can feel, and not just bold words and intimidations, the people will not long be fooled. Change is not coming! Filipinos too are intelligent. We may be long suffering, pero may hangganan din!

Why? Why? Why?

THERE is a lot of talk among government politicians ( i.e., politicians aligning themselves with the government) about federalism. They are even go so bold as to rush the change of the constitution in a month or two. Why is there no talk at all about political dynasties? Why?  It is still debatable whether federalism is good for us or not, whether it can bring about progress or failure to our country. Even our former chief justices have different views on it. And these are brilliant legal minds. But it is a no-brainer to see that federalism with political dynasty is a sure formula for failure. It will surely divide our country. Federalism will surely lead to feudalism and our country will be turned into fiefdoms by various political families.

The abolition of political dynasties has been a mandate of our 1987 constitution but it has never been a reality for us. It has never been acted upon and legislated by our lawmakers. Why? Because more than 80% of our congress people belong to political dynasties. And political dynasties belong to the elite. This is why our congress people are elitists. They represent the elite. Not even! They represent their own families! This is why in congress the congress men and women do not represent the people in the true sense of the word. They are not really elected by the people. They are put in congress because of fraud, bullying, deceit and political machinations. And there their families remain. Even our presidents of the republic, both of the present and of the past, belong to political dynasties.

The phenomenon will continue to happen with federalism, unless a clear prohibition is given by the constitution – not one to be acted upon by congress, which again they will never do – that there be no political dynasties and it is clearly stated what political dynasty means. But why, with all the commotion and propaganda on federalism, political dynasties are not mentioned? Why? Clearly because they want to wed the two – for their own sakes! Each then will have their own turfs. Each will be entrenched there, without any external control and even threat from outside their “states”. We will have a chop-chop country, if ever there will still be one country!

Before clamoring for federalism, we should first shout: “Away with political dynasties!” We can discuss about federalism, if there are no political dynasties.  Federalism then may still be defensible. But with political dynasties, federalism will be a sure failure.

A good gauge if our present political leaders are really concerned for the good of the country is their action to take away political dynasties, because corruption and poor governance are rooted in political dynasties. This will spell the end of our democracy. But as we see now, this is not how our current leaders act. Federalism is shouted in the air as the system that will bring progress to the country without even a whimper about political dynasties. They have their own family agendas. Can we trust them?

Can this Congress be trusted with the Constitution?

  

Can we trust this present congress with our Constitution? The Constitution is the Basic Law of the land. All the other subsequent laws to be passed by congress for many years to come will be based on the Constitution. Is this present congress up to the task of coming up with a New Constitution? The answer is a BIG NO!

First of all this congress is not a representative of the people. It is a misnomer to continue to call it as the House of Representatives because the majority of the persons there belong to political dynasties and they got elected not because they represent the will of the people but because of political machinations. Furthermore, the way congress as a whole behaves during the past year show that they not only represent their own families and political ambitions but they mostly kowtow to the wishes of Duterte. First of all, they jumped to the ship of PDP-Laban when Duterte became president. Then they prove to be a rubber stamp of what Duterte and his minions want. This is clearly shown in the bills they passed, like the death penalty, in the impeachment processes they pursue, first against the Comelec chairman and now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Then also the extension of the Martial Law. One does not see any substantial debate in the floor. Clearly, the good of the people is not within their purpose.

The arguments presented for the change of the Constitution are very flimsy. They just mouth slogans, like federalism, which they do not even examine deeply enough. It is not even known if they have consulted their own constituents on the matter. Being the Basic Law the change in the Constitution deserves more enlightened discussions among the people. It is not something to be railroaded. Their agenda is to submit the “New Constitution” to the people in the May 2018 barangay elections. Will the people vote intelligently if even up to now we do not know what the relevant issues are that would warrant the change?

And how can intelligent discussions be had when this leadership of the present congress, and of the present government as such, are not mature enough to accept and respect any opposition? There is no democracy if there is no strong opposition because the truth and the good of the people can only be ferreted out by mature discussions and deliberations? But if any opposition is tagged as destabilizers, how can any mature deliberations be done? If the opposition is being punished for not towing the line, like not giving them any budget or “project” at all, how can one voice out his mind, especially if it is against the official line?

The con-ass (constitutional assembly) is not the correct mode for changing the constitution at the moment even if it be claimed to be legal. This present Congress cannot be trusted with this important task. Besides, there is no need to hurry up the process. There is no deadline to meet, except the deadline set by interested parties for the purpose of controlling the people. Even expense is not a reason. Even if the Constitutional Convention (con-con) mode be more expensive, it is worth it that the people choose the right people just for the sole purpose of studying and changing the Constitutions, if there really is such a need. This present congress is not up to this task! In fact, they are rushing this up again because they are just towing the line of a few whose main interests are not those of the people!