What are transition councils for?

With Noynoy Aquino fast developing into a lame duck president, the talk among responsible Filipinos is how to move on â€” what do we do to make sure the country does not deteriorate beyond repair.

We have been let down so grievously by those to whom we have entrusted the running of our country.

We need to tackle national problems strewn in the wake of the latest government crises – the Napoles expose of pork barrel scam and the fighting in Zamboanga that has cost dozens of lives and with no prospect of ending. Letting it just fester will be our doom.

More and more are thinking of seizing hold of the situation instead of letting matters just drift. There are various scenarios to consider — the most crucial of which is to create a transition government and get the most able, experienced and patriotic Filipinos with unsullied reputations whether in or out of government to keep the country’s institutions running properly.

It may be ironic but the first task of preserving our chosen democratic way of life is to create a revolutionary government acting as a transition council. The test of revolutionary government would be to write a new Constitution and overhaul the entire system of governance.  

We must keep repeating that to ourselves that any other solution will fall short of stopping pork barrel scams and public moneys being filched by politicians to the detriment of the country. Neither do we have the luxury of time.

*      *      *

To those with reservations and hope that something can still be done to save the country from utter perdition should be reminded that at present all officials elected in 2010 and 2013 are illegally occupying their posts. The government acting through the Comelec is stonewalling all questions regarding this election so the duty falls on the citizenry to pick up the gauntlet.

These elections were failed elections and remain unresolved to this day.

How can an illegal government try the criminals of the Napoles pork barrel scams when it does not have the mandate from the people?

Moreover, the investigation is being made by people who took part in the crime either by actual commission or neglect in doing something about it. We have a government claiming to be against corruption and yet abets the very same corruption. We are deceived.

If we are to create a new society it must be founded on moral principles of government. The revelations of the pork barrel scams leave us no options unless we meet the challenge now of creating a new system that follows the democratic principle of government that is for the people by the people and of the people.

That task should have begun with the election failures of 2010 and 2013. We are not the first country that had had to confront the task of making the leap of change through revolution peacefully if possible and violently if necessary. Only then can we secure the future of our country.

 For this we will need to move fast or events will overtake us end up with the status quo, stuck in the oligarchic society we had tried to reform in the first EDSA that fooled so many reformers, some of whom gave up their lives and fortunes for the cause.

*      *      *

The military is mandated by the Constitution as protector of the state when it is threatened either internally or externally. But it can only act if there is a transition council under the principle that civic authority is supreme at all times. That can happen only if there is a civil transition council that the military can support. Without the transition council the military has no choice but support the existing government under the dictum of civilian supremacy.

Therefore reform-minded Filipinos must create a transition council, empowered to forge a new constitution, punish all government officials who were part of the scam and preside over new elections. All stolen moneys by politicians and officials alike should be returned to the national treasury under pain of being charged with crimes without bail. These moneys could instead be by the state for a new government set up by real ballots and a true counting.

*      *      *

It is unacceptable that the very same persons who committed the Napoles pork barrel crimes are allowed and continue to be in charge of investigating the crimes.

 Only a transition government can work out a juridical procedure to punish those who had shamelessly stolen the moneys intended for infrastructure and social services.

We must pursue this line while the issues are hot and burning and the people have awakened with a new energy to set the country right.  

If we don’t seize the moment then we may revert to business as usual with unscrupulous politicians feasting on public moneys with impunity.

*      *      *

The transition council follows the practice of “provisional government” that has been used in other parts of the world when a country is devoid of government. The Smartmatic PCOS elections combined with the Napoles pork barrel leaves us very little choice but confront the fact that we do not have government – only a seizure  by thugs elected by pre-programmed machines only to steal public moneys.

Thieves have broken down our electoral system, violated the Constitution and are helping themselves to public moneys. If that is not an indication that no one is charge, I wonder what else will.

*      *      *

There are provisional governments, transition councils, interim councils of every kind and hue in most countries after a revolution peaceful or otherwise. We had one after Cory Aquino’s EDSA but it ultimately failed  to carry out the reforms envisioned by the revolution. This time we must proceed more carefully as we move to what can be  considered a God-given opportunity to try again.

*      *      *

It is good news to Filipinos in London that Philippine Airlines returns to this central hub after 15 years of absence.  Despite that long absence Filipinos have hoped that the national airline would fly this route again. Going home in PAL makes them feel at home the moment they are in the plane with Filipino stewardesses and a choice of Filipino dishes in the menu. Its biggest come on is that it will be a direct flight cutting down travel time when they take indirect flights with stopovers.  Manila-London is the busiest route for linking the Philippines to Europe. With Filipinos in every major city in Europe the national carrier has made the right move with great potential.