Why the Comelec should rethink Lito's case!

We read that the Comelec is plagued with delays in the delivery of the Smartmatic computers to the point that we could have partial automated polls. However, this is something beyond its control and we hope that this issue will soon be resolved. However deciding cases especially of those personalities that the Comelec has disqualified, like former Cebu Governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña is within their province and we hope that the Comelec will not dilly-dally on his case because since the Comelec disqualified him for the reason that he cannot launch a nationwide campaign. However we’ve only heard a deafening silence from the Comelec on Lito’s case.

Call it a coincidence that while I was doing this article, I got an unexpected (they call it mental telepathy) call from Lito Osmeña who told me that his disqualification case in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already been assigned to a ponente, Commissioner Tagle who now has five working days to bring up his case before the Division which has to be decided by Jan.12th next week. We can only ask the Comelec to give Lito Osmeña a second look; after all, he already ran a nationwide campaign when he ran for Vice-President under Pres. Fidel V. Ramos.

The Comelec should also reconsider Lito’s case for the simple reason that his political party the Progress Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives (PROMDI) has also been given the nationwide status by no less than the Supreme Court (SC). In fact, our good friend, Joy Augustus Young (he is now running for Vice-Mayor under the ticket of Michael Rama with the Bando Osmeña Pundok-Kauswagan) was supposed to have been a Party-List Congressman but was not allowed by the SC to assume that office because PROMDI was considered a national party.

What made Lito Osmeña create the PROMDI Party? If you’ve already forgot, “Promdi” was once a very derogatory word given to most people living outside Metro Manila… from the province! Yes, in my younger days, I have been called a Promdi, but then, this “Promdi” was smart enough to answer back to those who called me a probinsyano with a question, whether your province had an International Airport or an International Seaport? If the fellow came from the City of Manila, he can brag that they have an International Seaport but not an International Airport as the NAIA is in Parañaque. That elicited apologies from these people. 

When Lito Osmeña became Governor of Cebu, his pro-Cebu daring do gave Cebuanos a new sense of pride. When he sold the Province owned lot that used to be the 40-hectare Club Filipino Golf Course to the Ayala Group, as a golfer, I mourned the loss of our golf course, but as a Cebuano, I lauded that deal because it was then that the land values in Cebu rose to the level of the land values of Metro Manila and Cebu has since grown by leaps and bounds because Lito motivated Cebuanos that we can progress on our own for as long as Imperial Manila loosens its stranglehold on Cebu.

I remember Lito saying, “We’re not asking for handouts from Imperial Manila because Cebuanos can excel anywhere. All we need is a chance to move forward.” Alas, a couple of decades later, we’re still stuck with Imperial Manila and the only way to move forward is for our shift to a Federal System which can only be done through charter changes via a constitutional convention (con-con) something that Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) has been pushing this week with the election of delegates come October.

Why should we make this shift to a Federated Philippines? First of all, our centralize system of governance that began with our Independence from the USA in 1946 has not really worked in developing our nation. Then from a highly-centralized government we shifted into One-Man Rule or Dictatorship in Sept. 21, 1972 and where did the Marcos Dictatorship bring this country? From second to Japan down to last on the list! We’re still there years later!

Just when we thought when the country would have gone faster economically under Martial Law like Singapore which was singularly run by Lee Kuan Yew, it ended with the EDSA Revolt of 1986 and democracy was restored. But instead of moving fast forward in order to leap frog our ASEAN neighbors, many of whom have started to accelerate its development, Tita Cory created the 1987 Constitution and restored not only our democratic processes, but returned us to the old centralized system of governance.

Today, Filipinos are shouting against corruption, yet they all think that by electing a new and untarnished President will instantly remove corruption from our sight. Little do they realize that all corruption cases have to pass one person, Merceditas Gutierrez whom Congress did not impeach? This is just one amongst the many examples why we want to change the constitution and make that shift to a Federal system of governance.

* * *

For e-mail responses to this   article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.