Six more years

The most intriguing aspect of the proposal to allow President Aquino to seek reelection is that he himself has not publicly disowned the idea.

People are used to the two factions in his (mis)communications team voicing opinions that are poles apart on an issue. But why hasn’t P-Noy himself spoken to clear the air? His silence in this case is deafening.

There are three theories here. One is that P-Noy considers the idea so idiotic it deserves no comment from the president of the republic and leader of daang matuwid. But he can’t say this aloud because he risks branding its proponent idiotic, and the proponent happens to be his BFF and successor-in-waiting (or so the guy hopes), Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

The second theory is that P-Noy actually likes the idea of six more years in power after 2016.

Several individuals close to his family and who have known him for a long time see this as an idea so incongruous, so absurdly unlike Noynoy Aquino. As one faction of the Palace (mis)communications team insists, however, a president can change his mind, and this president listens to his “bosses” the people.

And maybe that faction knows this president better than all those individuals who think they know him but actually know the mother, not the son, and mistakenly believe mother and child think exactly alike.

The mention of what the “bosses” want has led to jokes that the word used is really boses, the Filipino word for voice. And that the voices P-Noy is hearing are coming from the bosses of the Liberal Party (LP) who see an approaching debacle in 2016, with an extension of the president’s term the best way to avert the disaster.

Because the idea is being pushed by the interior secretary, the inevitable subliminal text is six more years for Noynoy, six more years for Roxas. This deal is buy one, take one. Shouldn’t Pinoys be glad about the bargain?

It will also be six more years for the rest of the gang that P-Noy can’t or won’t let go of, for reasons that probably boil down to old times’ sake. Six more years of clones of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), six more years of Teka-Teka 1 and 2, six more years of the LP getting the lion’s share of public funds and cornering top positions in government.

The LP has been around long enough to see that since Ferdinand Marcos was ousted, no ruling party has survived a leadership change in this country.

This is not necessarily because the president has done badly. But after six years, faults are magnified, and people are ready to try something new. New faces, new administration, new party. A president who wants to stay longer in power is deemed to be greedy, slapped down and told to give others a chance.

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People see in Roxas’ proposal an indication that he is ready to see his dream of becoming president dashed for the second time.

But there’s a third theory about P-Noy’s silence on the issue. We all know a president can’t seek a fresh term unless the Constitution is amended to lift term limits. But P-Noy has consistently refused to endorse Charter change. It is whispered that one of the best ways to make him tune out of a conversation is to mention Cha-cha, that he knows Pinoy politicians too well to trust them with limiting the changes to economic provisions.

Yet the 16th Congress appears bent on pursuing economic Cha-cha, through a simple but untried mode that is akin to ordinary legislation.

Why do the proponents think Cha-cha may succeed this time? Precisely because until Roxas opened his mouth, everyone thought P-Noy was sincerely, honestly not interested in perpetuating himself in power, that there would be no lifting of term limits under his watch, thereby ensuring that Cha-cha would be limited to economic provisions.

Raising the specter of political changes, with P-Noy himself wanting another term, is the best monkey wrench that can be thrown into economic Cha-cha.

Unless P-Noy himself comes out and firmly, unequivocally declares that he is not interested in staying one minute longer in power beyond his constitutionally mandated single six-year term, Cha-cha under his watch is dead.

Economic Cha-cha at this point, even through the simpler mode, is iffy to begin with. Any constitutional amendment must be thoroughly debated by the two chambers and approved within a few months if it is to be submitted to the nation for approval under P-Noy’s watch. Will lawmakers find the time and energy, considering the enormity of overhauling the budget system while the public is on alert for new, concealed versions of the pork barrel and DAP?

Is there still room for Cha-cha at this time when, whether we like it or not, 2016 election fever has started?

The monkey wrench is unfortunate because our Constitution could use amendments to boost national competitiveness in the globalized economy. Restrictive economic provisions are among the top disincentives to the types of investments that the country needs to generate meaningful jobs.

The biggest beneficiaries of protectionist economic provisions in the Constitution are the .001 percent of the population who thrive on oligopolies and monopolies and see no need to become globally competitive.

Investors who haven’t liked Roxas since he rejoined government are going to like him even less for tossing that monkey wrench into economic Cha-cha. But he probably can’t care less.

Especially if his proposal for a term extension enjoyed P-Noy’s blessing.