ON Tuesday, July 10, 2018, Philstar.com came up with a news item: “SWS: Duterte’s satisfaction rating plunges across all areas”

Wednesday, July 11, The Manila Times bannered on its front page, “SWS poll: Duterte’s rating suffers 11-point drop in Q2”

Friday, July 13, PhilStar has this on its front page: “Duterte still most approved, trusted gov’t official —Pulse Asia.”

Disparities are wide between the two pollsters’ figures. Apparently, the SWS survey was done from June 27 to 30, yielding a +45net satisfaction rating. SWS still considers this a “good rating” for the President. The Pulse Asia survey, done earlier, from June 15 to 21, registered approval and trust ratings of 88 percent and 87 percent, respectively, for Du30.

Rappler.com tried to explain the disparity in the figures: “The results of a Pulse Asia survey show President Rodrigo Duterte recording his highest approval rating yet — before his controversial remark on God that triggered a public backlash.”

True enough, upon checking, the President’s blasphemous speech was delivered on June 22, Friday, the last day that Pulse Asia conducted its survey. It is therefore probable that his declining numbers were captured by SWS, but not Pulse Asia. Rappler, despite its perceived bias against this regime, could be right after all. You just don’t mess with God!

The Deegong responded quite differently on the differing results. On SWS where the figures show a decline, he proclaimed: “I don’t care. Make it 15. Wala na ako dyan. (It does not matter to me anymore.) It does not interest me at all.” He shrugged off the results of the survey and even expressed readiness to step down from his post.


On the Pulse Asia positive results, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Palace was grateful for the people’s “continuing vote of confidence” in the President, who remains “the most approved and most trusted top national official today with 88 percent approval and 87 percent trust, respectively.”

“The President views these latest survey results with all humility; however, he is not leading the country for the sake of high or good ratings. The Chief Executive is simply fulfilling his campaign promises with the best interest of Filipinos in mind,” Roque said.

These two conflicting statements are somewhat reflective of the chaotic state of affairs among the President’s coterie of friends and advisers, amidst a pervasive smell of fear induced by a singularly arbitrary president. The cabinet members and his close confidantes simply are incapable of reining in the President.

In the absence of sensible advice from the timid sycophants in Malacañang, we, the ordinary people must demonstrate to DU30 that he can’t just not care about surveys and ratings. These are indicators, albeit snapshots of the moment, of the perceptions not only of his loyalists but that of his greater constituency, the Filipino people. More importantly if only for the sake of the people who have been supportive of his agenda, putting their faith in him and now maybe quite reluctantly, he needs to internalize what’s at stake here. Marami tayong nakataya dito!

Nope! DU30 will not be allowed to cop out and leave things hanging. For one the Centrist Democratic Party (CDP), small that we are, became part of the 16 million that gave the president his mandate because of one paramount shared advocacy, federalism — a systemic reformatting of the political structures overarching most of the problems and perversions of our government and society. We reluctantly accepted a traditional politician possessing the political will to transform our cherished but dysfunctional democratic institutions; and even destroy the vestiges of his own kind. This is a paradox, a traditional politician dismantling traditional politics using traditional means. Parliamentary federalism through constitutional revisions was a battlecry we responded to, from the presidential candidate from the very start. We will hold the Deegong to this one single promise.

Its rabid opponents have always used as an excuse that this concept is alien to our culture. Accordingly, majority of Filipinos don’t understand federalism and the constitutional revisions it entails. But this was also true then for the 1987 Cory Constitution, 1971 Marcos Constitution and even the original 1935 Constitution. What we need to understand about the Filipino is that for 500 years of colonialism, they trust their patrons and put their faith in their leaders to do the right thing for them. They will take federalism and Charter change on faith. And you can’t sell them short. They are a magnificently discerning race.

No president ever ran on such drastic promises — not Cory, not FVR, not ERAP, not Gloria, and especially not PNoy. Only this foul-mouthed, irreverent DU30 had the effrontery and courage to push for a radical and systemic agenda. That’s why he needs to be mindful of his survey ratings. He needs the continued support of the citizenry.

We federalists know our priorities. We will try not to hold the Deegong to his populist campaign promises. We will not be drawn into discussions on the broken ones: the continued proliferation of endo; the non-distribution of the coco levy funds to the farmers; and even the rising prices of commodities and the stagnating wages. Furthermore, we will evade arguments of our peso being Asia’s worst performer, the widening trade deficits and the stock market in bear territory and the negative impact of the TRAIN law.

We will give the President the benefit of the doubt as these are problems, urgent no doubt, but symptoms of the presidential-unitary system, which have been our bane for almost a century. The President has four more years up to 2022, his mandate, to look into these — provided, and only provided, that he uses once more his formidable political will to push through the revisions of the anomalous 1987 Constitution.

But we will continue to give him critical collaboration on the war on dangerous drugs that badly needs closure. This can’t just be passed on to the next administration. The president has to formulate clear plans to rehabilitate the infected ones and bring them back productively to society.

After almost three decades in public service, the man is almost burnt out, running on “empty” He wants out. But not yet. And many will agree with our Centrist position: push for the systemic changes and write a federal-parliamentary constitution and put it in place. Then by 2022, leave the presidency and go back to Davao. This is your legacy.

TODAY is the start of the four-day commemoration of the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986. After 32 years, the euphoria of those days has subsided; the memory of people dancing in the streets upon the news of a dictator fleeing Malacañang into the bosom of his erstwhile sponsor, America, is simply just that – a fading memory.

And the Deegong, who toned down the celebration last year, has at last appointed people to the EDSA People Power Commission (EPPC). Foremost among these commissioners are Christopher Carrion, an original of the 1986 EDSA and one of the founders of the Spirit of EDSA, Inc., that over the years has managed to perpetuate its memory. The other is Joey Concepcion, the industrialist son of President Cory’s first Secretary of Trade and Industry, Jose Concepcion, Jr. President Duterte must have thought hard on the symbolism of these appointments, the old and the new; the former, to stamp his imprimatur for the original rationale of EDSA, “…the abrogation of a dictatorship and restoration of democracy…”; and the latter, to pass on the torch to the new face of EDSA, one without its socio-political warts and connotations of failed promises. Perhaps DU30 is sending the message that however one interprets whatever the lessons and recriminations of the past, they must be subsumed to a larger purpose—the emancipation of the Filipino from the shackles of decades-long stark poverty, injustice and corruption.

President Duterte too was a child of EDSA, a derivative of its restructuring. A mere city prosecutor, he was flung into a political life when, upon the refusal by his mother Nanay Soling of an offer to become OIC Vice Mayor of Davao in 1986 by President Cory Aquino, the son assumed the role. History is replete with such twists of fate.

People on both sides of EDSA have interpreted its meaning over the years through the prism of each individual’s deep-seated beliefs, values and biases. Today, the perception of the winners and losers of EDSA are as convoluted as it was in 1986. No one is neutral on EDSA, except perhaps the millennials whose collective ethos have no intimate bond with the realities of those days. Perhaps this is inevitable as the passing of the years must strip away the “chaff from the grain.”

Perhaps, this is meant to be. Many of the participants in the decades-long struggle leading towards those fateful four days are now past their 50s. And the cruel onslaught of age, has decimated our peers, but time has likewise liberated our ranks, septuagenarians and nonagenarians from the prison of the of familiarity of the not so recent past. Thus, we may now look back dispassionately upon those days with a more judicious eye. We are a dying breed and will carry the memories with us to our graves. But our recollections and interpretations of those days have been put in paper. When the corpus is dead, the written words live. These are excerpts.

I am edsa. We are edsa.
(The Manila Times, March 2, 2017)

“I was wrong on my expectations about the ‘restoration of democracy.’ What was restored came with the re-establishment of the rule of an oligarchy and the continued perpetuation of traditional politics – albeit with a new set of personalities.

Many of us in the decades-long struggle for real democracy from the mid-1960s, adherents of parliamentary-federal structure of government, were enthusiastic in supporting Cory Aquino as she was our symbol against the repressive dictatorship. We understood too that she was from the elite and her values therefore were those of her class but we were hopeful that she would transcend these with the outpouring of love and adulation shown by the masses – whose values were not congruent to hers.

A few of us recruited to her administration implored her to continue to rule under the revolutionary Constitution to give herself more time to dismantle not only the martial law structures but the unitary system of government which we then and still now believe perverted the principles of democratic governance. We were no match for the ruling class. Cory surrendered her prerogatives to real socio-economic-political reforms by rejecting the people’s gift – the 1986 revolutionary Constitution. She then proceeded to embed her dogmas in her 1987 Constitution.

This is the Constitution guarded zealously by her son Pnoy that President Duterte and we the Centrist Democratic Party (CDP)…and the majority of the downtrodden Filipinos want to replace; with a federal-parliamentary system and a social market economy (SOME).”

What happened to edsa
(The Manila Times, March 9, 2017)

“The Yellows …
We were all ‘Yellows’ then as this was the color we wore after the assassination of Ninoy, symbolizing our protest against this dastardly act, and our struggle to boot out the dictator Marcos from power and institute real reforms.

Some of us are no longer Yellows… Our perception of EDSA and our role in it runs counter to what is now being peddled mostly by those of the recent past administration. Our take is that EDSA is not an Aquino family franchise, nor just a mere booting out of the Marcos family. And this is not a narrative of entitlements of two families.

The Marcos Loyalist Reds…
The hundred yellow ribbons ‘round the old oak tree’ may soon be covered by Red ones as the influx of Marcos supporters slowly inched their way into the political consciousness during the past years from their solid base in the Marcos homeland in the north. This resurgence can be attributed to the tolerance…of President Fidel Ramos, a cousin, who allowed the return of the dictator’s remains under strict conditions agreed to by the Marcos family, which agreement was reneged upon, perhaps, with the quiet acquiescence of the FVR administration. This paved the way for the complete rehabilitation of the family by PRRD who has admitted to his own father’s debt of gratitude to the father Ferdinand and his own fondness for the son, Bongbong. The son also did his part by demonstrating filial love – a trait much valued by the Filipino. On his run for the vice presidency, the Filipino millennial responded in kind. They are a powerful and versatile force that has clearly distorted the equation—partially alienating the yellows.”

I wrote these words in the past. I stand by them. But my children and my grandchildren will have a different take. And it is inevitable and only proper. But I also wrote these in summation:

“Perhaps the colors, Yellow and Red, will lose their significance and everything negative attached to them. Perhaps, the rise of a leader (DU30) who was himself a product of EDSA but tried to heal its wounds is what is needed in this time and age.”

I close my EDSA memories with a tinge of hope.

Ostensibly, this will advance the move by DU30 to put in play a major election pledge. But behind the platitudes are the details, where the devil resides. The delicate issues range from the political structure to the economic underpinnings of the revised constitution and perforce the profile of the coming Philippine Republic.

 

What we have today

“The Philippines is a sovereign state governed as a single entity. The central government is supreme and the administrative division or local government units exercise only powers that the central government has delegated to them. Central government is therefore ultimately the source of power (upon the consent of the governed) and can choose to delegate, decentralize and devolve powers but can unilaterally revoke or take them back.

 

What we want

“We also want a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary government. Briefly, Parliamentary system is known too as “Party Government”, as the political parties have ascendancy over personalities and because of the pivotal role of political parties in parliamentary elections, governance and public administrations. In our proposal, the legislative and the executive powers are fused in a unicameral parliament. The “Head of the Government” is the Prime Minister with his cabinet recruited from among the members of Parliament, while the President is the “Head of State” and Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces. He is elected from among the members of Parliament. The Prime Minister (Head of Government) can be booted out of office through a “vote of no confidence, not impeachment.”

But before all of these must come to pass, and during the actual revision of the 1987 Constitution, the Centrist Democratic Party (CDP) and its political institute (CDPI) proposes three steps:

Step 2. Right after the plebiscite in May 2019, transit immediately into a parliamentary government, also known as “party government” because of the pivotal role of political parties. The “newness” of this governmental form may take more time for calibration for our institutions and our leaders to acclimatize to this new political regimen.

 

By the time the President steps down in 2022, the parliamentary government will be in place. The head of government will be chosen by virtue of the political party majority or through party coalitions. The president or head of state will be elected from among the members of parliament.

We are just into the beginning of the new year and two events occurred: one is personal; and the other, institutional. But both related.

Her reply:

“Don Mayo” and “Don Lito” were names we addressed each other. These titles underscore a special but quirky bondharking back to the early 1990s when we organized, along with Willy Villarama, Art Aguilar, Babes Flores and Angelo Reyes, the KSG-Harvard Alumni where they made me president for several years. Don Mayo was purportedly my “consigliere” although he was more a godfather than I. We were “conspirators” in one sense and spent time in idle chatter (whenever I flew in from Davao) concocting humorous scenarios and stories about our Harvard colleagues, with Kuku oftentimes berating us for being “unkind.” But mostly we analyze and critique most everything, especially official acts of government, from the administrations of Fidel, Erap, Gloria to PNoy, where our solution to the problems of the country was simple and elegant—“kill the miscreants.” Don Mayo may be snickering somewhere in the beyond to observe that the Deegong is now actually implementing our original solution.

Don Mayo was my go-to guy when we formulate economic provisions some of which are incorporated in the “Centrist Proposal for the Revision of the 1987 Constitution”. We often clash and disagree on certain ideas on political economy but improving in the process overall quality of discussions. These documents are also partly a legacy of Don Mayo.

Towards the end, Kuku would accompany him to our CDPI board of advisors’ dinner-meetings, making this steadfast exemplar companion part of the proceedings. He was becoming weaker but still had his superb sense of humor. And upon meeting we still bow to each other on one bended knee and putting our right hand to each other’s forehead. He first, and I reciprocate; a ritual we last did in June of 2017. We will do this again when we next meet – but not sooner, I hope.

This version was presented to the Malacañang Press last September upon the behest of the then presidential spokesman, Secretary Ernie Abella. This was also printed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) for a comparative analysis along with the PDP-Laban and the congressional committee versions. Hopefully, this will be taken up in the 25-man consultative commission of President Duterte, if ever.

So, Don Mayo, I will have that dinner with Kuku and your four sons after “babang luksa”– period of formal bereavement. Then Kuku, your sons and I will raise our glasses of Malbec, to our health and to your memory.

“DON Mayo is dead! Long Live Don Mayo!

We are just into the beginning of the new year and two events occurred: one is personal; and the other, institutional. But both related.

Mario Antonio “Mayo” G. Lopez passed away at dawn last Saturday, January 7, 2018. Very fitting indeed as this was the feast day of the “Three Kings,” the official end of the Catholic celebration of the Christmas season. I would like to believe that the three Magi from the past ushered out Mayo, escorting him to the Lord as they did visiting baby Jesus 2,000 years ago. But knowing Mayo, the reality in fact is more sanguine, if not dramatic. He exited this world “…on his own terms and at his own choosing.” What could be more histrionic than that! The bugger didn’t even wait for me to say goodbye. I texted Kuku, his wife, “ang haligi ng kanyang buhay,” for permission to visit him after the holidays as I had to spend Christmas with my grandkids in Davao. She said to visit anytime. I was in the 6:30 a.m. plane to Manila yesterday and reviewed FB postings and bedside photos with Mayo by Raffy Alunan and Babes Flores, our Harvard colleagues. And then this sudden news.

“Kuku, I’m inside the plane to Manila now when I got the news in FB. I was hoping to visit and see Mayo before he leaves us. Now I regret not flying from Davao earlier. I love the guy. I hope he forgives me.”

Her reply:

“Don Lito, he loves you too. And there is nothing to forgive. He knew you were with the family.”

I have this nagging feeling that Don Mayo left centerstage just before I flew in to see him to stress me out and to prove a point that he is in control. What impeccable timing for an exit scene.

“Don Mayo” and “Don Lito” were names we addressed each other. These titles underscore a special but quirky bondharking back to the early 1990s when we organized, along with Willy Villarama, Art Aguilar, Babes Flores and Angelo Reyes, the KSG-Harvard Alumni where they made me president for several years. Don Mayo was purportedly my “consigliere” although he was more a godfather than I. We were “conspirators” in one sense and spent time in idle chatter (whenever I flew in from Davao) concocting humorous scenarios and stories about our Harvard colleagues, with Kuku oftentimes berating us for being “unkind.” But mostly we analyze and critique most everything, especially official acts of government, from the administrations of Fidel, Erap, Gloria to PNoy, where our solution to the problems of the country was simple and elegant—“kill the miscreants.” Don Mayo may be snickering somewhere in the beyond to observe that the Deegong is now actually implementing our original solution.

Which brings me to the other facet of our relationship. I invited him to be a member of the Centrist Democracy Political Institute (CDPI) board of advisors. He was a valued member of the small group of political technocrats that help CDPI process centrist positions on issues of the day. Among those in the board are Pepe Abueva, CJ Puno, Rufus Rodriguez, Francis Manglapus, Ed Tayao, Philip Camara, Mon Casiple, Linda Jimeno, Malou Tiquia, Peter Koeppinger and Benedikt Seemann.

Don Mayo was my go-to guy when we formulate economic provisions some of which are incorporated in the “Centrist Proposal for the Revision of the 1987 Constitution”. We often clash and disagree on certain ideas on political economy but improving in the process overall quality of discussions. These documents are also partly a legacy of Don Mayo.

Towards the end, Kuku would accompany him to our CDPI board of advisors’ dinner-meetings, making this steadfast exemplar companion part of the proceedings. He was becoming weaker but still had his superb sense of humor. And upon meeting we still bow to each other on one bended knee and putting our right hand to each other’s forehead. He first, and I reciprocate; a ritual we last did in June of 2017. We will do this again when we next meet – but not sooner, I hope.

The Centrist proposal

The printed version of the centrist proposal in booklet form has just been released, courtesy of the Vibal Group (available upon request). It’s a pity that Don Mayo didn’t get his special copy. This week, Rufus Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Political Party (CDP) provided copies to each of the members of the House, the 23 members of the Cenate, justices of the Supreme Court and all members of the cabinet and PRRD and VP Robredo. The salient points will be discussed in my column next Thursday. But those serious adherents of federalism should refer to my Manila Times column article (“CDP roadmap to federalism,” May 11, 2017), or access www.cdpi.asia).

This version was presented to the Malacañang Press last September upon the behest of the then presidential spokesman, Secretary Ernie Abella. This was also printed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) for a comparative analysis along with the PDP-Laban and the congressional committee versions. Hopefully, this will be taken up in the 25-man consultative commission of President Duterte, if ever.

Towards the end, Don Mayo and I were still texting about political and economic issues, but they became of lesser and lesser importance. His FB postings were becoming more personal, familiar and warmer with photos of his wife, Kuku, and family. Funny, but in some ways, we never did get to meet each other’s children, only our wives. Several months back, we decided to have dinner at La Cabrera with Kuku and his four sons. We postponed the date twice. His last txt to me was last October: “Don Lito, we’ll find time for our steak and wine dinner when my health improves.”

It never did.

So, Don Mayo, I will have that dinner with Kuku and your four sons after “babang luksa”– period of formal bereavement. Then Kuku, your sons and I will raise our glasses of Malbec, to our health and to your memory.

Salud! Please don’t expect to see me sooner.

We are just into the beginning of the new year and two events occurred: one is personal; and the other, institutional. But both related.

Her reply:

“Don Mayo” and “Don Lito” were names we addressed each other. These titles underscore a special but quirky bondharking back to the early 1990s when we organized, along with Willy Villarama, Art Aguilar, Babes Flores and Angelo Reyes, the KSG-Harvard Alumni where they made me president for several years. Don Mayo was purportedly my “consigliere” although he was more a godfather than I. We were “conspirators” in one sense and spent time in idle chatter (whenever I flew in from Davao) concocting humorous scenarios and stories about our Harvard colleagues, with Kuku oftentimes berating us for being “unkind.” But mostly we analyze and critique most everything, especially official acts of government, from the administrations of Fidel, Erap, Gloria to PNoy, where our solution to the problems of the country was simple and elegant—“kill the miscreants.” Don Mayo may be snickering somewhere in the beyond to observe that the Deegong is now actually implementing our original solution.

Don Mayo was my go-to guy when we formulate economic provisions some of which are incorporated in the “Centrist Proposal for the Revision of the 1987 Constitution”. We often clash and disagree on certain ideas on political economy but improving in the process overall quality of discussions. These documents are also partly a legacy of Don Mayo.

Towards the end, Kuku would accompany him to our CDPI board of advisors’ dinner-meetings, making this steadfast exemplar companion part of the proceedings. He was becoming weaker but still had his superb sense of humor. And upon meeting we still bow to each other on one bended knee and putting our right hand to each other’s forehead. He first, and I reciprocate; a ritual we last did in June of 2017. We will do this again when we next meet – but not sooner, I hope.

This version was presented to the Malacañang Press last September upon the behest of the then presidential spokesman, Secretary Ernie Abella. This was also printed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) for a comparative analysis along with the PDP-Laban and the congressional committee versions. Hopefully, this will be taken up in the 25-man consultative commission of President Duterte, if ever.

So, Don Mayo, I will have that dinner with Kuku and your four sons after “babang luksa”– period of formal bereavement. Then Kuku, your sons and I will raise our glasses of Malbec, to our health and to your memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if only DU30 could whip his super-majority into converting Congress into a constituent assembly (con-ass), with the same speed, to deliberate on the revisions of the 1987 Constitution, paving the way for a shift from the unitary to a federal system of government, then the Filipino will forever be grateful. Unless the DU30 has been playing with us all along and has “dropped the ball on federalism.” But this is a topic for another column. Meanwhile, back to the extension of martial law in Mindanao.