Why People’s Initiative is doomed By Emil Jurado | Posted 9 hours ago | 793 views 11 I’m not into doomsday scenarios, but God must be telling the country something with all these disasters, man-made or otherwise, hitting us one after another. We had typhoons and flooding, and then that Zamboanga City standoff which left the place economically devastated and created a humanitarian crisis with more than 130,000 evacuees. And then last Tuesday, there was that 7.2-magnitude killer earthquake that collapsed churches and other buildings in Bohol and Cebu and left many casualties. I have never seen such devastation that I am convinced God is telling us Filipinos, a predominantly Catholic country, to do something. God who sees everything and wills everything must be really trying to send us a message. * * * Speaking of sad news, the travel site “Sleeping in Airports” again tagged the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 among the worst in Asia and in the world. My gulay, that’s the repeat of another survey which found Naia 1 as the worst terminal in Asia. Budget travelers cannot find any place to sleep and rest there; at times they find themselves robbed. Toilets are filthy. Initially, the Aquino administration allocated P1.1 billion to improve Naia when Secretary Manuel Roxas was still with the Department of Transportation and Communication. Nothing was done. The new DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya also promised to refurbish Naia, even tapping the country’s best architects and interior designers, but still nothing has been done. At the rate the Aquino administration is noynoying, I guess Naia 1 will remain one of the worst in Asia and the world. It certainly is no fun in the Philippines! An airport leaves the first and last impression on a foreigner, my gulay! * * * When retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno suggested that the people should take the route of People’s Initiative as mandated by the 1987 Constitution, or by a Republic Act to have the pork barrel system totally abolished, there were some reservations. These reservations came with good reason. The process is a long and tedious one. First of all, if the people themselves take the mode of amending the Constitution to have the pork barrel system abolished, there must be a petition of at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3 percent of the registered voters therein. A republic act requires only 10 percent of the total number of registered voters nationwide with the same percent of 3 percent of every legislative district. My gulay, even if only one legislative district is not able to comply, the People’s Initiative is doomed! Since the initiative would deprive legislators of their pork barrel where commissions, rebates and kickbacks abound, that means the greedy lawmakers would campaign against it in their legislative districts. In many districts nationwide, there are command votes dependent on how much and how far a congressman or senator can spread the gravy. Those who agree with Puno’s proposal have to agree on which route to take—the constitutional mode, or the Republic Act. Since we have a President who doesn’t like to touch the 1987 Constitution framed during his late mother’s term, taking the constitutional route is far-fetched. Thus, we are left with the law on People’s Initiative. But that also is steeped with land mines since a lawmaker who doesn’t want his pork barrel abolished can easily campaign against it. There is also the need to decide what amendment in the Constitution must be made or what law must be enacted. In the United States where People’s Initiative is prevalent, they call it “Proponent” or “Proposal.” It’s easier there to have the initiative prevail because it’s a federal system of government where every state has its own Congress. And if the required number of signatures is taken, they must also be verified by the Comelec, after which a referendum will be called for that purpose. People’s Initiative under the Constitution or by law is doable, but it’s impractical under our system of government. So, what else can we, the people, do, but continue mounting protests nationwide, hoping that President Aquino and Congress will listen to the people? The next move is People Power – but do we really want to go through all that again? * * * Senator Jinggoy Estrada, in the budget hearings of the Commission on Audit, pointed out the fact that the Commission on Audit findings on the misuse and abuse of the PDAF were incomplete. Based on this report, which looked into the disbursements between 2007 and 2009, three senators—Estrada, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Bong Revilla—have been charged with plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman. So why was the report not complete in the first place? Where is the audit for 2010-2012? Was COA Chairman Gracia Pulido-Tan under instructions from Malacanang to name only the administration’s political enemies? It appears that the COA reports are selective. * * * If Senate President Franklin Drilon should blame anybody for the negative publicity he is now getting from his refusal to summon Janet Lim-Napoles to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, it should be himself. His refusal only suggested that he did not want Napoles to appear because she might say something that would be bad for him. Incidentally, I’d like to ask the Senate: With all these happening, does Drilon still have the moral ascendancy to be the Senate President? 11
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 02:16:55 +0000