Electoral Reforms, Federalism, Pimentel

May 23, 2008

COMMENTARY: Antonio Abaya

Before I get on with the topic at hand, I would like to report that my <A href=”/ym/Compose?To=acabaya@zpdee.net&YY=47697&y5beta=yes&order=&sort=&pos=0″>acabaya@zpdee.net</A> account was blocked, by person or persons unknown, from April 14 to 28. I could not send or receive email during this period, and had to use my gmail account to send out my articles to my online readers. During this period last month, my website www.tapatt.org was also blocked for two days. We could not load new material, nor could we even open it. An error message would always appear: “This page is not available.” After we complained to Yahoo Geocities, an Avery Wood replied, apologizing for the disruption of service but offering no explanation for it. At least, www.tapatt.org was back in circulation. But on May 11, www.tapatt.org was again blocked by person or persons unknown. We have sent two emails to Avery Wood. He replied to the first, asking for more details, which we supplied him, but he has not replied since. To this day, my website, which archives my articles since 2002, remains blocked and inaccessible. (Even the transmission of this particular article has been delayed for 24 hours [and counting] because I have had no email or internet access again: my zpdee server has been down again, kuno, since May 20.) I have my suspicions on who is doing this to me and why, but I do not want to sound paranoid. Would anyone offer an explanation for this apparently deliberate and malicious harassment? Would anyone have any suggestion on how to avoid or overcome it in the future? Now for electoral reforms. During my TV interview with Harry Tambuatco on Destiny Cable last week, we discussed my objections to the Federalism resolution of Sen. Nene Pimentel on the grounds that federalists have not shown any empirical evidence that switching from a unitary to a federal system would “spur economic growth” etc. Harry asked, Are you against all changes? Are there any changes that you would like to see? By all means, yes. But these changes should be made through an elected Constitutional Convention AFTER the 2010 elections. Hurrying them through with a hastily convened constituent assembly BEFORE the 2010 elections merely creates a Trojan Horse, with President Arroyo crouching inside, scheming to become prime minister, in the manner of Vladimir Putin in Russia. And what changes would I like to see? First and foremost, I would like to see senators elected by region, instead of at large. By this means, all regions are represented in the Senate all the time. In the present system, in which senators are elected by nationwide vote, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Bicol are over-represented, Visayas and Mindanao are under-represented, and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao is not represented at all. When was the last time we had a Muslim in the Senate? As far as I can recall, that was in the 1970s or 80s, in the person of Mamintal Tamano, father (?) of the opposition spokesman Adel Tamano. No wonder the Bangsamoro want to secede To have no Muslim presence in the Senate, for one whole generation, is against all political commonsense Why didn’t the framers of the 1987 Constitution think of it? What other changes would you like to see, asked Harry. I would like to see qualifying exams for all candidates for all elective positions, from municipal councilor to president. This would disqualify, right from the start, the stupid and the ignorant, no matter how popular they may be with the squealing masa. We require qualifying exams, or their equivalents, for doctors, surgeons, med-techs, nurses, anesthesiologists, ophthalmologists, lawyers, dentists, psychiatrists, architects, engineers, accountants, economists, educators even for Grade I, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, computer programmers, airline and private pilots, captains and officers of maritime ships, call center agents, bus and jeepney drivers, truck drivers, private motorists, real estate agents, insurance agents, harbor pilots, air traffic controllers, radio and TV technicians, and just about every other modern occupation. Why the hell shouldn’t we require qualifying exams or their equivalents for those who want to manage or represent our barrio, our town, our city, our province, our region, our country?. I would like to see a total and permanent ban on all radio and TV political ads. Instead I would like to see the three government-owned TV channels – Ch 4, 9 and 13 – and their nationwide radio and TV networks, deputized by Comelec to be the sole venues for all political programming during the 45- or 90-day campaign period. Managed by a non-partisan commission made up of members from academe, the Churches and NGOs, the deputized TV channels will schedule EQUAL and FREE air time for all registered parties and candidates. This would level the playing field for all candidates and remove or drastically reduce the advantages of moneyed politicians. I would like to see the Comelec deputize all registered parties and candidates to remove all illegal campaign posters, illegal either because these posters are oversized or because they are pasted or hung illegally such as on trees, lampposts, LRT columns, private and public walls, bridges, overpasses, etc. Every election time, illegal posters and streamers are a visual plague that uglifies our urban and rural landscapes, and the Comelec is powerless to enforce existing bans because of lack of personnel. By deputizing all registered parties and candidates to enforce the bans, the Comelec would be using a self-policing mechanism. Candidate A would not want to be upstaged by candidates B, C, and D. So he would remove the illegal posters of his rivals, just as his rivals, candidates B, C and D would also make sure that candidate A will not post illegal posters and streamers. Removal of illegal posters and streamers, however, must be done in the presence of deputized policemen, to avoid plain vandalism and violence. Lastly, I would like to see the dismantling of political dynasties. The 1987 Constitution calls for such a move against political dynasts. But in the past 21 years, eight Congresses have been convened, yet no action has ever been taken against political dynasties? Not surprising, since political dynasts controlled and control these Congresses. On the contrary, political dynasties have proliferated like mushrooms, plunging this country deeper and deeper into what I call neo-feudalism, from which the only liberation may be a revolutionary government. I have written about these reforms in articles dating back to 2004. But since my archive-website has been blocked, I cannot cite the specific article/s. ***** Reactions to <A href=”/ym/Compose?To=tonyabaya@gmail.com&YY=47697&y5beta=yes&order=&sort=&pos=0″>tonyabaya@gmail.com</A>. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com. .

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