In a report recent from Rappler, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for the first time in 45 years burned Philippine flags.

Our flag is a symbol of the country. The colors and images of the stars and the sun’s rays are a depiction of a free and sovereign nation. The Blue shade on top signals that the country is at peace; inverted, with the Red on top says we are at war. We have inverted our flag twice in the short history of the flag – during the revolution against Spain and the 2nd World War.

As details in the story say, the flags were burned not out of disrespect but because they were already old, tattered, unusable and must be discarded. Furthermore, this is in compliance with Section 19 of Republic Act No. 8491 that “worn-out flags shall not be thrown away but shall be solemnly burned to avoid misuse or discretion.”

Philippines laws must also be like this. Like the worn-out flag, deemed useless, there are laws currently in our statutes that have outlived their usefulness. At the very least they need to be discarded or amended as they are no longer effective and helpful for the growth of our nation.

The analogy between old flags and old laws end here.

But the idea of discarding that which is no longer useful is very valid, especially when we refer to an outmoded set of laws – such is the status of our Constitution. The debate on whether it still embodies the aspiration of the Filipino has been raging as of late. Even the method of how it came about – fashioned by presidential appointeesas a reaction to the Martial Law years of a dictator – is now being challenged.

The decades of our Constitution’s ascendancy during the regime of unprecedented upheavals in world socio-economic-cultural realities; explosions in communications and the internet; elimination of borders between neighbors, beliefs and trade practices; virtually rendered this rigid set of basic lawsobsolete and no longer responsive.

Anecdotal evidence confirms our country being left behind in our economic status as next to Japan after the war to one among the lowest in Southeast Asia lagging behind our neighbors.

In no small measure is our reputation being helped by the World Corruption Index as the 94th corrupt country in the world (one of the lowest among the ASEAN countries). This is with no doubt attributable to the immoral leadership we have thriving in a politically perverted system.

We need not dwell on our frustrations on a leader who will hold on to protect a legacy of a mother who crafted the Constitution that has become antiquated and no longer work.

So we are reduced into simply coping, waiting for the day when an enlightened leadership will emerge to alter the political realities and spur the changesto a rotten system of governance.

Meantime we have initiatives by progressive lawmakers who still thrive to work decently within the system and try to deal with it - perhaps hoping against hope. But the ground has been strewn with discarded house bills, good potential laws meant to augment the Constitution, making it a little relevant: House Bill 1343 (Constitutional Amendments); House Bill 389 (The Political Party Reform Act; and House Bill 388 (The Anti-Trust Law & Anti-Monopoly).

Now comes another, House Bill 4732 which seeks to forfeit (when prima facie evidence is established) ill-gotten wealth that government officials and employees had obtained out of proportion to their incomes.

Filed by Cagayan Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez, the President of the Centrist Democratic Party (CDP), And Partido ng tunay na Demokrasya, this bill aims to replace the 59-year old Republic Act No. 1379.

According to Congressman Rodriguez, there is a need to update the State’s forfeiture powers considering the “modern methods and sophisticated means being employed by corrupt public officials and employees to spirit away unlawfully acquired properties within an increasingly short period of time, and out of the State’s reach.”

In reality, what these thieves really do is transfer names of properties to their sons, daughters, wives or “dummies” to avoid declaring these in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities & Networth (SALN). In Pinoy slang, “Lulusot kung lulusot.”

Another crucial bill of utmost importance is the FOI Bill (Senate Bill No. 1733), also known as the Freedom of Information Bill. It strengthens Article III Bill of Rights, Section 7 of the Constitution that says “The People has the right to public information”

Transparency and accountability are essential not only for the people but to our government as well. Although, PNoy says that this bill is his number one priority, his acts suggest otherwise. After five years in office, nothing has happened to its progress in the legislative mill.

Last is the Anti-Dynasty Bill (House Bill # 3587) which seeks to promote grassroots leadership. It is a fact that 80% percent of our lawmakers in office come from political dynasties. A study has shown that most breed in the country’s poorest cities and municipalities.

Whether a member of a dynastic family is a good official, political dynasties must be curtailed. Dynasties suggest select powerful families gaining complete control over a territory not to mention its people and resources.

These bills are an attempt by responsible lawmakers to try to pull the outmoded Philippine Constitution up to parity with the modern era. I’m afraid that with the insensitive political leadership we have, these will all go the way of the discarded Philippine flags – off to the incinerator.

Going back to our analogy, today, we are in a quandary as to the question of whether the Red hue should be on top of the Blue; as in this country, its long suffering people is at war with its political leadership.