THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
Ernie D. Delfin
OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM NEEDS A MAJOR OVERHAUL: A “SERVANT LEADERSHIP PARTY” TO WORK FOR THE
COMMON GOOD
(2nd in a series of ‘Coming
Home’ articles)
Both
the USA and the Philippines are currently in deep and spirited political
exercises these days. The United
States in just less than two weeks will
have its presidential election on Novembers 6, while the Philippines just started its mid
term election campaign legally early this month. The lingering
economic woes, higher than normal unemployment and increasing gasoline
prices at the pump here in America are making the presidential contest a very
close race between the Democratic
President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger, Mitt Romney. The Philippines
political climate is also getting hotter and the moneyed candidates have started to grease their political
machines across the country.
As an
independent voter in the USA, I still
have not decided who to vote to be my
president the next 4 years, as of this writing. I have voted for President
Obama in 2008, but I am not totally convinced that he has delivered what he
promised to do, then and I am not quite optimistic that another 4 years term
will make a lot of difference. His many socialistic programs have made more
Americans lazier and more dependent upon the government that takes taxpayers’
money and redistribute it to millions of nonproductive or opportunistic
citizens.
Yet, I am
not equally enamored with the GOP alternative Mitt Romney, either. A multi-millionaire, he seems to be out of
touch with the lower economic strata of American. He appears to have flexible
conviction that has changed to the center from his stand during the primary
election. Furthermore, although it is
not legally required for him to disclose his previous years’ tax returns, he has completely ignored
the requests of many people and groups. Is
it because what are contained in those tax returns may contradict some of his campaign
rhetoric? No one knows except him and
his CPA.
The
independent voters like me will have to make a decision very soon and in some
degree, it will be the “lesser evil” as
neither one has all the qualities I want
in my president. What a choice! The polls to this date show a dead heat and one
may win the popular vote but may lose in the Electoral College, like in 1980
when Bush Sr. beat Al Gore with the “hanging chads” controversy that even went
to the U.S. Supreme Court. The
swing states, like Florida, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, Virginia and Iowa, will
determine who will be elected president on November 6th!
* * * *
I was in the Philippines for over a month and I was
there when the filing of candidacies started on October 1st for the May 2013 elections. As a resident of California for almost 40 years,
and having voted in every election since I became a naturalized American
citizen, I have a first hand knowledge about the political processes, their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (S.W.O.T.) of both countries.
For the most part, the
Philippines, a relatively young
democracy since its independence of 1946, from the United States (or is it 1898
from Spain?) compared to the USA that became an independent nation since 1776, still has much to learn and improve to make it
a true representative and democratic nation to
be a genuine government of the people,
by the people and for the people.
It’s
somewhat lamentable that the wish of
the first Philippine president Manuel L.
Quezon that he “preferred to have his
country run like hell by Filipinos vs. run like heaven by the Americans”
apparently has come true! (Pun intended)
There are many “wrongs” in the country’s political system that converts the political campaigns into a national circus. It’s a common knowledge that votes are
bought and sold openly for as low as P500
to as high as P5,000 per voter, depending on the province or city and the position being contested. Politics is a huge business in the Philippines,
but the politician-vote buyers can
easily recoup their investment a hundred fold once they are in
power. For instance, a senator gets a pork barrel of P200,000,000
annually and millions more for their
staff, travel and more if a senator become a committee chairperson (yes, there are more than committees than
senators!) and many other perks and
allowances that do not require any audits if these monies were really spent for the common good!
Many families in most provinces enter
politics to protect and amass more wealth. Over generations, they have established their political dynasties,
whereby a husband or wife and/or their children just swap positions, to go around the so-called term limits. I know a mayor who can no longer run for
reelection as mayor after his three
3-year consecutive terms or 9 years, but
his wife is running as his alter-ego and
he is running as her vice mayor.
After one term, he can again run and be the mayor for another 9
consecutive years!
Vote buying
in the Philippines has been practiced for many decades now and it is unlikely to change dramatically unless and until the vast majority of the electorate becomes
more economically independent and politically mature like in the United States. Vote buying
subverts and undermines the true
will of the people, and often makes the less qualified or corrupt people into
elected into public offices. Many personalities, college drop outs, former actors, comedians, and even athletes or boxers are now in Congress!
In the
USA, there is no vote-buying. On the
other hand the political candidates
ask for political contributions from their party mates and from
political action committees (PACs) that believe and support the candidates’
platform. It is reported that this election year, both the Democrat and Republican
parties have achieved historic amounts of contributions in excess of $1 Billion!
The candidates’ forum and televised debates of
opposing candidates help us greatly to
know more about the candidates,their platforms and programs. Voters are also given the opportunity to ask questions, to get a good glimpse of the
candidate’s passion, advocacies as well as his character. For
instance, the three presidential debates
between Pres. Barack Obama and GOP
challenger Mitt Romney will certainly help many undecided voters like me who to
vote.
Unlike the
many political parties in the Philippines,
the parties in the United States really stand for something well defined
as there is indeed a black-and-white contrast between the parties,
especially where the party stands in major issues like, taxes, role of government,
social programs, foreign policy, military spending or abortion, etc. etc.
The
Philippines’ political parties have
become parties of convenience and many candidates change their political
parties or coalesce with others like a chameleon changing its colors to suit its environment. The Philippines also elect their 24 senators
countrywide, that has made the big island of Mindanao having only one or two
senators for decades while Luzon has the majority of the senators. The Senate
of the USA has 100 senators, 2 senators
per state regardless of its population, thus making California that has over 30
million people equal to Alaska that has less than a million people!
The
Philippines and the USA, however, both
elect their representatives by congressional districts based on the population
of that province or state. Thus,
provinces like Cebu and Pangasinan have more representatives in Congress than
Batanes or Catanduanes, and California and New York have more representatives
than Alaska or Wyoming.
The Philippines’
party-list system has also become a mockery of the political process. Millionaires become congressmen purporting to represent marginalized
social or economic groups like the organization of security guards or farmers yet
these party list candidates never really belong to such
groups! We do not have this
so-called party-list system in the USA, although there are many minor parties, the Peace and Freedom, the
Libertarian Party, that almost always field
a Don Quixote candidate.
* * * * *
As politics is
an integral part and parcel in the fiber
of any democratic country and politicians are supposed to deliver the COMMON
GOOD (this profound phrase seemingly has
become extinct and never discussed openly now), it is imperative to re-evaluate why there is
now and obvious and prevalent decline in the quality of political parties and politicians. WHY?
Please allow me to advance my idea
why. Over the years, elected public officials have metamorphosed
into full time careers from the old tradition of a public service as a
part-time profession. Hundred years ago
(for the USA) and decades (for the Philippines) a public office is an office of
trust that is given to worthy citizens who want to really serve, and never to enrich themselves through their elected
position. I still vividly remember when I was a small boy in our barangay my
own grandfather, then followed by my father, being asked to be the barrio (the
lowest political unit of government in
the Philippines) or a barangay’s
Capitan del Barrio. Then, the position sought the man (not vice versa) and there was not even a salary for that
opportunity to serve. The only
consolation was the honor given by the
governed and the satisfaction for doing a true public service for the common good.
With that bit of nostalgia and observing
the political trends of both countries’
political processes, I now believe that
a more principled and more focused party that believes, adopts and fights for the COMMON GOOD must be created or formed,
as soon as feasible, hopefully before
the 2016 presidential election in the Philippines and the USA. This party can become the common peoples
party (not to be confused with the Communist Party) that will advocate that each public office is an office of trust, that politicians
must not make it their full time career
to ingratiate themselves, but must go back to the private sector after a few
years of service, like in the early life of the republic.
This party can be christened as the SERVANT
LEADERSHIP PARTY that obviously implies that the party candidates and
leaders are there to serve and not to be
served. All the candidates must declare
and if necessary to enter into a ‘blood compact’ in signing a covenant between
themselves and their party and the people that they will not enrich themselves NOR
engaged in any corrupt practices like many trapos
(traditional politicians) of our times.
I have no illusion that in these
materialistic times, this idea will have a very steep climb and will be opposed
by most of the trapos in our midst, but what is a better alternative that we the
people have now? If we do not start a
revolutionary idea or action NOW, what will be the political system of our
nation when my grandchildren or their own children become adults?
With the remaining productive
years of my life, I am willing to add my God given talents, my time and organizational
experience to bring this idea to the table, so that the pros and cons can be discussed more
intelligently, among as many voters who are intrigued or interested with this outside-the-box idea. Who knows, this Servant Leadership Party (SLP) might
be born during our lifetime. Only God knows and time will tell.
COMMENTS, ANYONE?
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