Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
23 Jan 2007

Mr. Delfin, you said in your previous posting, “Sorry to inform you but the system is broken. The court system is broken. The government is broken. To fix the problem, summary executions of these SOB’s is a must.” You also said, “As you and I know, our elected officials or government employees in the US and Canada are held accountable to function in their capacities. We expect the same for the Filipinos in the Philippines.” I agree with you when you said that the Philippine system is broken because for a very long time now, we have been advocating badly needed constitutional reforms to fix it. You find the system of Canada and U.S. more superior than the Philippine system but I like to say with conviction, “If Canadians and Americans can do it, there must be no reason why Filipinos cannot do the same or even better.”

We are lucky because we no longer need to reinvent the wheel. From what I understand, research and developments in all facets of life are continuously being done around the world including Philippines. Worldwide, there are so much standardization that had been done already in the past and will continue way beyond the future in search of excellent quality, superior efficiency and higher productivity. I am quite sure that Canada and U.S.A. including other friendly nations are willing to lend helping hands in case Philippines needs it. Nobody must doubt their willingness to help because people had already seen in many instances the heroic acts of Canadians and Americans in risking their lives in order to help others, the same thing is true with Filipinos and other nationalities. What are friends for anyway? What is the use of cultural, trade and technological exchanges among allied countries if they are not being utilized?

Constitutions must be written in such a way that it can bring out the very best of every citizens, can reward those who deserved to be awarded honorable recognitions and can punish and outcast those who were undesirables. The constitution must allow those who are responsible, honest and competent to serve longer and to cut short the term of services of those who are not so that they can be easily and economically replaced by those who can do much better. The system of governance must be cheaper to maintain, more efficient and more productive compared to other systems of government.

The key words here are “efficiency” and “productivity”. It is impossible to have a constitution perfectly written at once. There is always room for improvements in everything including the constitutions of all the countries in the world that is why there is such a thing as constitutional amendments. To fix the Philippine system for the better, Filipinos have no choice but to change the Charter (Cha-Cha) into something much superior and better quality. We have to accept the fact that the current Philippine Constitution has so many flaws or imperfections. Unfortunately, some people just do not give a damn if it is broken. To them everything is perfect. Who cares if it is broken? Why fix something if it is making them rich? All they need to do is to pretend that they care and they are in business.

If you ask me, I like the Philippines to adopt a unicameral, federal parliamentary system because I had personally observed the many good features of the system that are advantageous to the country and its people such as simpler, cleaner, faster result, more economical and practical elections. My preference of the parliamentary system of government was based on my personal observations, exposures and experiences under the bicameral federal parliamentary system of government here in Canada and that of the presidential and martial law systems of government in the Philippines where I had spent most of my life. There are times when I wonder why there are not so many actors or actresses who wanted to become politicians here in Canada, whereas in the Philippines, there are so many of them who wanted to enter politics. Is it because it is more difficult for the actors and actresses to win in a parliamentary system than in a presidential system of government?

Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
23 Jan 2007

Mr. Delfin, that is exactly the problem that we are trying to point out for a very long time now, the Philippine system is broken and very badly needs constitutional reforms to fix it but some people with vested interest do not want it fixed. They were able to confuse and fool other people by pretending that they care but in reality they are just after their own welfare. They do not want it fixed because they can thrive better with the status quo or existing state of affairs where scoundrels and scalawags can go unpunished and can get elected or appointed to government offices. Filipinos must open their eyes to the reality that the Philippine system is broken and needs very badly to be fixed.

In addition, weak links of the system must be located and eliminated to prevent future constitutional crisis, government breakdowns and excessive waste of taxpayers’ money. The sooner the better before it becomes full blown financial and social nightmares.

I hate to say this but I need to say it anyway, the current Philippine system is very inefficient and a joke in comparison to the systems of some other countries. Just take a look at the senators who said that they are very proud of their legislative performances. How much did they accomplish and how much did it cost the taxpayers? Are Filipinos willing to allow this fiasco to continue? Can we afford it? I do not think so. It will be very interesting to know if the next batch of senators who will be elected this coming May election will become part of the solutions or will become part of the problems? Abangan natin ang susunod na kabanata.

In the meantime, Filipinos must face the reality and must jump into action to tackle the challenges of making the badly needed system and constitutional reforms for the better as soon as possible.

P. Pines
23 Jan 2007

Congratulations on the Talong Festival! Unfortunately it was a “peste” for me and hundreds of others in cars, buses, cargo trucks etc. Why the town of Villasis with several hundred hectares of land has to close the McArthur National Hi way just to have a street party and inconvenience others who have nothing to do with the town, is beyond me. Rerouting traffic from Carmen going to Urdaneta is not the answer. That route is an additional 30 minutes and without street lights. Rerouting the traffic through the side streets of the town brought us to the very rough and dusty barangay roads and took us over 1 hour what should have been a 10 minute trip to the Urdaneta border. Traffic going south from Urdaneta reached the Purina Feed Mill. So the real cost of that celebration was more than what the town paid for.

Please do not do to McArthur Hi Way what the mayor of Manila does to Roxas Blvd. I am sure the people of Villasis would not want to be stuck in a traffic jam in some other town or city for hours just because the fiesta is being held on the national road.