RODRIGO Duterte won the presidency riding on the slogan "Pagbabago." His campaign centered on "federalism," a concept dear to the neglected people from the margins, milking this polarizing catchphrase — Manila imperialism! — the overly centralized political authority lodged in the capital region. Parliamentary government is a key complement to federalism. Duterte was an advocate but with a twist — he wanted a strong presidency, often referring to the French model erroneously as something desirable for the Filipinos. His framework for this feature was historical nostalgia for pre-Hispanic times "...when the bond between social classes, maharlika and maginoo (the nobles) to the freemen and slaves was balanced on the "padrino/patron relationship. This buttressed his conviction of a strong father figure for the presidency, but inconsistent with a parliamentary system.

Yet he initiated a shift to a federal-parliamentary from a unitary presidential regime, declaring that the latter was the root cause of all major problems plaguing Philippine governance. His persona as a filthy-mouthed, uncouth, misogynistic, strong-armed leader fired the citizenry's imagination, naively impressed by such vulgarity, as was his reputation as a "can do" local government chief executive, boasting of his accomplishment as mayor of a city, he "eliminated" crime and arrested Davao City's slide toward a narco-state. He would do the same for the country once elected president. And the Filipinos believed him!

And we gave him carte blanche for his "tokhang, war on drugs," tolerating the deadly consequences of human rights violations — the overhyped extrajudicial killings (EJK). Now that he no longer holds the reins of power, recent Senate and House hearings revealed a different narrative. That the Deegong's regime from 2016-2022, abetted by the "Davao Mafia," an unwarranted pejorative label, some of whom were elevated to senatorial posts, was beset with corruption, bribery and proliferation of illegal drugs, and doused by spilled blood equal to if not surpassing the martial law regime of the father of his erstwhile ally BBM. This comparative saga of the twin evil dynasties — the Marcoses and the Dutertes will not be discussed at this point. It deserves several articles starting next week, ushering in the year 2025.

This column instead will reprint, with a few minor alterations, my analysis of systemic structural defects and the necessity to dismantle this American legacy of a perverted unitary-presidential government.

A unicameral (one body) parliament

First, as a rejoinder to the gridlock springing from the rivalry of the executive and the legislature, particularly the Senate that deemed itself co-equal with the president, the parliamentary system has done away with the American construct of three independent branches of government ("Federalism-Cha-cha! going nowhere?" TMT, July 25, 2018).

In a parliamentary government, the legislative and the executive powers are fused and vested in a unicameral parliament, and the head of the government is the prime minister (PM), with his cabinet recruited from among the members of parliament (MPs). The American republican concept of the fictional independence of the three branches of government — the executive, legislative and judiciary — is drastically modified in parliament.

The president is the head of state (HOS) and is elected from among the MPs. Upon taking his oath, he ceases to be an MP and member of any political party. Serving a term of five years, the HOS is meant to be the unifying symbol of the Filipino nation (similar to the UK's monarch). Powers granted by the Constitution are largely ceremonial. The president (head of state) is not meant to compete with the PM (head of government).

A unicameral parliament is composed of elected members (MPs) from the parliamentary districts plus those chosen by the political party on the basis of "proportional representation" according to the percentage of votes each party obtained in the preceding election.

The members chosen (in a party list) by the political parties shall constitute 30 percent of the total number of MPs, and these seats are reserved solely for the "less privileged" (party-list), farmers, fisherfolk, workers, etc. Party-lists, under our anomalous 1987 Constitution, are not meant to run separately and outside of or independent of a nationally accredited party. The current Senate and House of Representatives are both replaced by the parliament.

A parliamentary government is also called a "party government" because of the pivotal role of political parties in parliamentary elections, governance and public administration. This means that Congress should now pass the "Political Party Development Act," long archived since the Aquino III administration.

The imperatives of real political parties

Currently, our political parties are personal factions and alliances of politicians, united mainly for elections and patronage; their mass memberships are nebulous at best and are not guided by the sustainable and exclusive serious platform of government that differentiates them from one another. Thus, those elected under such parties are not responsible and accountable for their performance in and out of office.

For these reasons, members and those elected leaders have no loyalty to their parties and migrate to the political party of the winning president. This spectacle is known as the "political butterfly."

As proposed by the Centrists (CD), any elective official who leaves his political party before the end of the term shall forfeit his seat and will be replaced by his political party.

A mechanism to replace a prime minister is for parliament to withdraw its confidence and by electing a successor by a majority vote of all its members. This "vote of no confidence" is a much easier process of replacing a head of government in a parliamentary system than the current impeachment process.

Political parties — what we have

Parliamentary government can't exist without real political parties that are ideologically differentiated. What we have is this phenomenon, almost exclusively Filipino, known as the "political butterfly syndrome." In this context, switching political parties is akin to chameleons changing their skin color perfunctorily. This is descriptive of a paucity of ideological perspectives and politicians bereft of a moral compass anchored on patent expediency.

Almost all of the political parties in the Philippines are structured in a manner that hews closely to the centuries-old patronage system. The patron (in this case, the sitting president) who provides the funds makes almost all of the party decisions, especially with regard to those slated to run for elective positions; the central/executive committees are usually manned by their allies and subalterns; and there are no real offices and party activities year-round except during election periods.

Invariably, political parties do not have a uniquely consistent set of beliefs that distinguishes one from the other; at most, they proffer slogans and motherhood statements that pass for political doctrines. Their political agenda is predictably directed toward the preservation of elective members' prerogatives, ensuring the continued accumulation of pelf and privileges for themselves, their families, and their allies.

Individual programs and family interests, perforce, have precedence over that of a political party's collective appreciation of society's needs. And once they are gifted the privilege to govern, public policies are instituted on the fly, emanating from the framework of traditional political practices; their comprehension of national issues is seen subjectively through the prism of personal and family interests, thus perpetuating the existing flawed political institutions.

To be continued on Jan. 1, 2025

The Senate President crowed yesterday that the party he nominally coheads, PDP-Laban, has a “pleasant problem” — too many potential senatorial candidates. Koko Pimentel’s estimate is they have up to 20 possible choices for the 12-person slate for the 2019 senatorial race. But his list includes the five administration-affiliated senatorial incumbents up for reelection next year. This is a group that has made noises that, much as it prefers to remain in the administration camp, it is unhappy with the way PDP-Laban has been designating its local leaders and candidates, and therefore prefers to strike out on its own, perhaps in alliance with the other administration (regional) party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, headed by the President’s daughter and current Davao City mayor, Sara Duterte.

Setting aside, then, the five-person “Force,” the administration-oriented but not PDP-friendly reelectionists (Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, and JV Ejercito), what Koko’s crowing over is a mixed bag. Some of them have been floated by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (with whom Mayor Duterte clashed in recent months): six representatives (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who is in her last term in the House of Representatives; Albee Benitez, Karlo Nograles, Rey Umali, Geraldine Roman, and Zajid Mangudadatu), three Cabinet members (Bong Go, Harry Roque, and Francis Tolentino), and two other officials (Mocha Uson and Ronald dela Rosa), which still only adds up to 11 possible candidates (who are the missing three?).

Of all of these, the “Force” reelectionists are only fair-weather allies of the present dispensation; their setting themselves apart is about much more than the mess PDP-Laban made in, say, San Juan where support for the Zamoras makes it extremely unattractive for JV Ejercito to consider being in the same slate. Their cohesion is about thinking ahead: Creating the nucleus for the main coalition to beat in the 2022 presidential election. The contingent of congressmen and congresswomen who could become candidates for the Senate, however, seems more a means to kick the Speaker’s rivals upstairs (at least in the case of Benitez and Arroyo) and pad the candidates’ list with token but sacrificial candidates, a similar situation to the executive officials being mentioned as possible candidates (of the executive officials, only Go seems viable, but making him run would deprive the President of the man who actually runs the executive department, and would be a clear signal that the administration is shifting to a post-term protection attitude instead of the more ambitious system-change mode it’s been on, so far).

Vice President Leni Robredo has been more circumspect, saying she’s not sure the Liberal Party can even muster a full slate. The party chair, Kiko Pangilinan, denied that a list circulating online (incumbent Bam Aquino, former senators Mar Roxas, Jun Magsaysay, TG Guingona, current and former representatives Jose Christopher Belmonte, Kaka Bag-ao, Edcel Lagman, Raul Daza, Gary Alejano and Erin Tañada, former governor Eddie Panlilio and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña) had any basis in fact.

What both lists have in common is they could be surveys-on-the-cheap, trial balloons to get the public pulse. Until the 17th Congress reconvenes briefly from May 14 to June 1 for the tail end of its second regular session (only to adjourn sine die until the third regular session begins on July 23), it has nothing much to do. Except, that is, for the barangay elections in May, after a last-ditch effort by the House to postpone them yet again to October failed.

Names can be floated but the real signal will come in July, when the President mounts the rostrum and calls for the big push for a new constitution—or not. Connected to this would be whether the Supreme Court disposes of its own chief, which would spare the Senate—and thus, free up the legislative calendar—to consider Charter change instead of an impeachment trial. In the meantime, what congressmen do seem abuzz over is an unrefusable invitation to the Palace tomorrow — to mark Arroyo’s birthday. An event possibly pregnant with meaning.

“Then I fall to my knees, shake a rattle at the skies and I’m afraid that I’ll be taken, abandoned, forsaken in her cold coffee eyes.” – A quote from the song, “She moves on” by Paul Simon, singer/songwriter

THE recent tremors affecting the central provinces of Mindanao caused by a series of seismic waves radiating to the northern and southern parts of the island, were like nature shaking a rattle, emitting sharp sounds and unnerving motions from the underground, both frightening and bewildering as to the intensity and confusion they generated.

The successive earthquakes and aftershocks were rattling the nerves not only of residents close to the epicenter but also those living along the active fault planes who were not used to strong earth movements. Some reported dizziness, anxiety, depression and other post-traumatic stress symptoms after experiencing continuous shaking and periodic vibrations.

As this article was written, less frequent but perceptible tremors were felt on the affected areas although everyone is reportedly bracing for aftershocks which many hope and pray, would not turn out to be the dreaded “big one,” as some irresponsible persons are falsely posting on social media. Shake a rattle drum to this latter blokes.

According to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), since the 1900s, Mindanao has been rocked by at least 35 earthquakes, three of which, felt at “Intensity 7” or worse, were deemed destructive: the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake which caused a tsunami reaching up to nine meters that killed about 8,000 people including the unaccounted ones; the 1999 series of earthquakes in Agusan del Sur damaging roads, and poorly constructed schools and infrastructure; and the Sultan Kudarat earthquake in 2002, killing eight people with 41 others injured and affecting over seven thousand families in the provinces of Sarangani, North and South Cotabato (Rappler 2019). Shake a rattle of prayers for all who perished in these tragedies.

The series of earthquakes in October of this year, just weeks apart, with magnitudes of over 6 hitting many provinces, again, in Cotabato and southern parts of Davao accounted for the death toll of 22, damaging homes, school buildings and many infrastructure, shaking and sending chills to many residents who have to deal with continuing albeit smaller tremors which can be felt as far up the city of Cagayan de Oro and down the southern province of Sarangani.

Some local officials reported residents having developed “earthquake phobia” keeping watch on their clock hanging inside their tents in evacuation sites, losing sleep with anxiety awaiting when the next tremor would be coming. With frayed nerves, some would panic over even slight ground shakings.

But this is not about the temblor as much as the response of people and the country’s leaders and responsible officials. Except for the government of China which donated P22 million in aid and support for relief efforts in Mindanao, hurray for China, other foreign countries just expressed condolences and messages of sympathy to families of victims. No pledges, no assistance. Perhaps, they can’t trust our government agencies to do the job for them anymore. To them, a shake of the baby rattle.

To the initial bunch of donors who immediately come with their financial assistance such as Yorme Isko Moreno of Manila with his P5 million personal money, Mayor Vico Sotto with relief goods and P14 million coming from the people of Pasig City, Mayor Marcy Teodoro of Marikina with 100 modular tents, movie star Angel Locsin who moved about sans fanfare for her charity work offering food and other assistance to victims in Davao and North Cotabato, to Mayor Inday Duterte for relief distribution, Cebu provincial government for disaster relief campaign and to the many nameless others who came with their relief aids, shake a rattle of joy and thankfulness for their kindness and generosity.

To our government officials and politicians goes our appeal to set aside politics, distribute the relief items according to the wishes of their donors and not allow goods to rot because of political colors as was shown in the previous administration’s handling of donated goods. To them, shake a rattle of enlightenment and peace.

In whatever disaster or crisis that befalls the country, trust Filipinos’ resiliency and coping mechanisms such as resorting to prayers and humor to come to their succor.

Social media become a natural venue for memes, practical jokes and bantering such as the ones which came after Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy reportedly claimed that he caused to stop the earthquakes so they can no longer create damage. To everyone, shake a rattle of laughter and fun while we help provide for the needs of our less fortunate brethren in Cotabato and Davao provinces.