The Vice President and party programs

While I agree with Vice President Teofisto Guingona that he has every right to his opinion, I am afraid that he’s wrong to challenge the Lakas-CMD to expel him. If Guingona, truly believed that Lakas-CMD party policy was inimical to ‘nationalism,’ then the decent thing for him to do is to resign from the party both as its president and as a member. But by taunting the Lakas-CMD to expel him after the party directorate had decided in an overwhelming vote of 95-5 to include constitutional reform in its party platform, Guingona’s position is out of line.

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No, Mr. Vice President, you will not be expelled because in this country we do not know the meaning of justice. Justice is not just about winners, it is also about losers and the country is best served when the rule of law, whether it is by vote or by judicial decision, is respected by both winners and losers. In other countries struggling for political reforms, there would have been no qualms about expelling you; for working against the party platform. But Filipinos are too squemish about implementing rules. Baka masaktan. That is why the Marcoses are not in jail, Erap is in a hospital instead of being behind bars, we can go on and on to cite many examples about our inability to implement laws because we do not want to accept that in a country under the rule of law, you can not win both sides. If the party directorate voted 95-5 , it was a party decision by consensus to which members are expected to fall in line. It presents Mr. Guingona with an extraordinary opportunity to be a good example not only to party members but to politicians in general. That is how democracy works.

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The irony is that during the days when the Arroyo government was being set-up after EDSA2 some of us rallied behind then Senator Guingona for vice-president precisely because that would be consistent with the Party’s advocacy for new politics. While there were other personalities with equal stakes for the post; i.e., Senator Nene Pimentel and Senator Franklin Drilon who were part of the coalition, in the end it was Guingona who was chosen. I believe and I have heard it from party leaders that they chose Guingona precisely to demonstrate the sincerity of Lakas-CMD’s platform for political reforms. That includes fostering cohesion within the Party and to discourage politicians from flitting from party to party whenever their personal agenda suits them.

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How would it have looked, we asked, if President Arroyo had then selected as her vice president someone other than a member of the Lakas-CMD? It would have meant that the new administration was not really sincere about political reforms. Still, that should not prevent Vice President Guingona from pursuing his position against constitutional reform if he so chooses. That is his prerogative. But he should resign, not demand that he be expelled.

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Let us turn now to the substance of Mr. Guingona’s objections against constitutional reform. As a member of the Coalition for Constitutional Change Now, I am not aware that any economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution will be revised. On the contrary, constitutional reformists in partnership with members of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments has emphatically declared again and again that economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution will not be touched. I might mention at this point that a civil society group composed of members of the CCCN as well as some academics have issued a statement which says that economic policies are the province of Parliament. That is the group’s position when and if the time comes for policy proposals to advance the economy. Here is what it says under the heading ‘Come, let us reason together:’ "We see it fit to tread lightly on the issue of national patrimony provisions, considering the merits of both sides of the argument. For who can deny our need to increase both local and foreign investment to attain our aspirations of eradicating poverty? As we manage the slippery process of globalization, we find ourselves needing to balance the requirements of efficiency, competitiveness and openness with the imperatives of justice, conservation and sovereignty in order to give a human face to our development.

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We believe that the way forward is to give ourselves and future generations maximum flexibility on these questions of national patrimony and foreign equity by committing to decide them at the parliamentary level in coordination with state governments. (CNP: This presumes that a parliamentary federal government in place). This sector by sector, state by state approach will lead to more efficient and locally acceptable settlements on the most vital concerns of the economy."

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The question to ask is: What are Guingona and Co. protesting about?

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Letters. A foreigner with a Filipino Heart who requested anonymity wrote:

Congratulations on your column in today’s (Sat 7 June 2003) Philippine STAR. It is an excellent analysis of the Philippines’ political leadership problem – the ability of a "leader" to see and say something important..., and then to do it, see it through fearlessly and without regard to short term personal cost. A true leader must lead..., above all else, not dither, not wonder "why not" ...., even as his house burns around him.The Filipino nation needs real leadership, someone who can and will look forward, see what we can be and commit us all to taking the Philippines, kicking and screaming if needed, to a brighter and sustainable future."Leaders" who dwell in the past, with eyes cast backward, yearning for time that has already failed us once, are all too easy to recognise. Sadly eyes are not required – their words give them away every time!

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Luciano Angeles @<yahoo.com>wrote: I’m one of the avid readrers of your column, FROM A DISTANCE, a thoroughly enlightened one, especially in the important issue like the Charter Change (Cha-Cha). In your column today, I agree with you that, "What is at the heart of constitutional change now, as far as the masa are concerned, constitutional reform will give them a new lease of life, faster legislation and implementation of projects for their basic needs, good governance, and masa would be for it."Yes, masa should support changing the system in-order to have good and speed services. And in my part may I request to include me in your group under the banner of Coalition for Constitutional Change Now

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