Are We Ready For A President Who Keeps His Promises?

By Gel Santos Relos

                    
                    

                                        

 

Handa na ba kayo? Ayaw na nga ba natin ng katiwalian sa gobyerno? Pero bakit mayroon pa ring pumapalag sa simula ng pagbabago? Bakit may mga tumututol na imbistigahan at pagbayarin ang mga mapapatunayang nagkasala sa bayan, lalo na si Gloria Arroyo?

 

When Noynoy Aquino campaigned for the presidency, his platform banked on the eradication of graft and corruption in the government.  “Kung walang corrupt, Walang mahirap!” was his winning slogan. The latest official poll count from Comelec indicated a landslide victory in the presidential race for Aquino.  Prior to his inauguration, Aquino has already made some statements that make it seem like he is, indeed, going to keep his word. 

 

Two days after the national elections, in the middle of the whole nation's pre-occupation over the automated poll count, outgoing President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Associate Justice Renato Corona as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Aquino has expressed disdain over the Arroyo's decision, saying that it was in violation of the constitutional ban on midnight appointments.   To show his protest, Noynoy said "Mas gugustuhin ko pang manumpa sa harap ng Baranggay Tanod". (Note: he will take his oath before the only Justice who opposed GMA's appointment)

The Supreme Court  has handed down the ruling as "final and executory," saying that  Corona's appointment is necessary to fill up the vacancy that will be left by outgoing SC Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who retired on May 17. Currently, 14 members of the Supreme Court  are appointees of Pres. Arroyo.   Many believe that Corona's appointment was made by Pres. Arroyo to protect herself from prosecution for acts of graft and corruption.

Many legal analysts and critics, including former President Fidel V. Ramos, agree that Aquino, as the new President-elect  should be afforded the privilege of appointing the new Chief of Justice. They perceive Pres. Arroyo's appointment of Corona as unethical and unjust. They also tried to convince Corona not to accept the appointment. Sana raw ay tinanggihan ni Corona ang alok ni Arroyo sa ngalan ng delicadeza.  This, they said would have been the right way to do to avoid any constitutional crisis.

On the other hand, Malacañang has told Aquino to “stop being a candidate and start being a president” by abiding with tradition and taking his oath with the newly-appointed SC Chief Justice, just as his  predecessors did in the past.  However,  Aquino's decision to defy tradition is not unconstitutional either. Swearing in to office is such a sacred act to do, Aquino would rather take oath before a Barangay Tanod who represents the ordinary Juan dela Cruz, or whoever he chooses other than Corona. 

The Corona issue is already a tangible proof that President-elect Aquino should swim against the tide in order to fulfill his campaign promises, on top of which is ensure that Pres. Arroyo will be investigated and prosecuted for several allegations of graft and corruption and the "Hello, Garci" scandal.

To complicate the  situation, Arroyo has been elected to a congressional seat in her hometown of Pampanga and has stepped up to claim chairmanship of the Lakas-CMD party. She goes down in history as the first president to be elected in Congress after her term ends. 

 Malacanang spokesperson Gary Olivar said it would not be helpful for Aquino to make true his word, “If the number 1, number 2, number 3 of your agenda is to give the chairman of that big party (Lakas) a hard time for the rest of your six years in office, I don’t think you’d be able to put that coalition together.” Olivar has asserted that Pres. Arroyo has the numbers and the clout  from her elected colleagues in Lakas, and that Aquino would be needing Arroyo’s help if he wants his programs supported and his initiatives passed in Congress.

Para bang "trap" ang pahayag na ito ng Malacanang--kailangan bang mimili si Aquino sa dalawang pangako niya sa bayan -- ang pangakong paiimbistigahan at pagbabayarin si Arroyo sa mga sinasabing kasalanan sa bayan,  o ang pangakong maipatupad ang mga programa para mapaunlad ang buhay ng mga mamamayang Pilipino na lumalabas na maaari lamang mangyari kung sasayaw si  Aquino sa saliw ng musika ni Arroyo?

Corollary argument is what I hear from many Filipinos in everyday public discussions and even in a tete’a’tete.    

Some say Noynoy should not waste his energies on investigating and prosecuting Arroyo  and should just focus on alleviating poverty, improving education, health and other basic services. They argue that it seems like Noynoy governance will be out of vengeance! I hear people who, coming from a position of learned helplessness, insist that it would be impossible for Aquino to weed out graft and corruption as this malady has been in our society for decades.  

Even the question as to whether Noynoy should investigate leading vice-presidential candidate and former Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay for allegedly enriching himself through his position --- some voters told me that Makati residents voted for Binay because he delivered results. Some rationalized that it is this same principle that has sustained former presidents Estrada and Marcos' popularity, despite the charges filed against them.   Okay lang daw ang maging corrupt kung nagagampanan mo naman ang tungkulin mo sa bayan at naaambunan ng biyaya ang mga kababayan mo.

There is also the issue of whether Noynoy Aquino can effectively fight against people in government who may have been his supporters or family friends.  Will he really run after members of his own family if there are graft and corruption scandals against them?  And how many of those who have won positions in his administration through the elections are actually willing to help him in his cause for anti-graft and corruption?  

Surprisingly, despite Aquino’s landslide victory, many  Filipinos  shout out  that he should just forget about the charges, move on and move forward!

 But how can we move on and move forward when justice has not been served to those who have broken the very laws they  have sworn to respect, uphold and follow? How do we break the vicious cycle of corruption in our governance when administration after administration we have the mindset that it is being done out of vengeance and not justice?  Aren’t  we condoning and perpetuating graft, corruption, injustice and impropriety by allowing those who may be proven guilty in the court of law to get away with their crimes? Anong mensahe ang tinuturo nito sa ating mga anak at sa mga susunod pang henerasyon?

This is the dichotomy of the truth about what we want from our President. We rant against corruption and elected a candidate who ran on the platform of fighting against corruption. Now that he is the President-elect and may actually be trying to keep his word --- doing something bold and nontraditional to bring about change, why is there resistance to his action? What are we really  for and what are we against in this case?  

Moving forward --- we, the people, need to ask ourselves some serious questions. Ano ba talaga ang gusto natin bilang isang bayan? Do we really want to eradicate graft and corruption, or would we rather revert back to the same old style of familiar, traditional corrupt politics in our own everyday life and in our bigger Philippine society? If you still believe graft and corruption should be addressed by the incoming administration , what better proposals do you have in mind to achieve this goal? 

Are we are truly ready for a President who may be ready, willing and able to fulfill his campaign promises? Are we truly ready for change?