Noel means good news

Some of my colleagues at the Concom are troubled with the position that former President FVR has taken on No-el in 2007. What does he mean when he calls it a monumental blunder?

There is a basic misunderstanding. No-elections in 2007 does not refer to the term of President GMA or Vice-President Noli de Castro and all other national officials whose terms end in 2010. As a matter of principle those terms have to be respected. President GMA, et al could voluntarily resign but until then we have to respect their terms. That is the rule of law. The no-el in 2007 provision refers to a synchronization of elections when the terms of all public officials end in 2010. That would pave the way for a smooth transition from the presidential unitary system to parliamentary federal.

More importantly, those who voted for ‘no elections in 2007’ based their decision on realities on the ground. We do not have the necessary institutions for credible elections now and we will not have it in 2007, so soon after the revised constitution’s if it is ratified in 2006. Indeed those of us who have been in the forefront of charter change advocacy for many years have been burned too often by this so-called ‘elections’ ploy for the sake of democracy. What it really means is that we will have the same flawed elections with ‘winners’ gaining the right to terms beyond 2010. Elections thwarted charter change in 1997 and again in 2004.

To me, it was a principled decision and frankly, I thought one that would find favor with President GMA’s critics, troubled as they were by her legitimacy. If flawed elections are the bane of our political system then it is folly to have more of it without putting our electoral institutions in order.

Moreover it is a proposal consistent with our dissatisfaction with the way we conduct our elections and is part of the reason why we think it is better to shift to parliamentary government. Its bad effects are all around us. In my case, the advocacy for parliamentary federal system necessarily includes the reform of our electoral system. If that is not placed by then the whole enterprise of charter change would be imperiled.

Still others in the Concom have asked whether we should step back given the Ramos statement. I do not think so. We have made a recommendation that is consistent with acknowledging the fact of our flawed electoral system. If others want elections despite that, they do so at their own peril. For myself there is just no way we can sacrifice charter change for the sake of rotten elections. In any case we only made a recommendation. It is Congress which will have to decide whether we shall have or shall not have elections in 2007. (Just as I was finishing this column, I got a call from President FVR to give his side on the controversial transitory provision. I will tackle this tomorrow).

* * *

I find comic relief that the no-el controversy is happening at the time of the real noel. But come to think of it, it isn’t all that funny when we come down to just what no-el means and where it all started. According to the books there are two schools of thought. Some say the word comes from the Latin natalis (birthday) and refers to Jesus’ birthday. Others say it comes from the French nouvelles (news), and so refers to the good news (the Gospel) of Christ’s birth, which the angels announced on the first Christmas when Christ was born. The second meaning seems to be the way the word is used in most carols, such as the "First Noel," that is, the first proclamation of the good news. See that? No-el is good news or can be good news too depending on who is bringing the news. It would be to businessmen who dread elections time, when candidates are all out panhandling.

* * *

It was not all work for us at the Concom. We made friends, too, often shaking hands at the end of acrimonious debates. Among the friends I made was former vice mayor of Baguio, Betty Tabanda. She was a fierce feminist as well as a great defender of ancestral lands. I hope to see her one day as a member of parliament. She has lived in Baguio all her life and grew up in the Baguio Gold Mines. "In that sense I am more Igorota than the natives," she adds. Many times I turned to her for advice on parliamentary procedure in which she was adept not only because of her experience as a vice mayor from 2001 to 2004, but also because she was a professor of law and specialized in electoral law at the Baguio College of Law.

Since she had helped put together the Concom consultations in Baguio I asked her what she thought of accusations that these were rigged. She vehemently disagreed. The meetings were organized by NEDA through the regional development councils. She recalls being interviewed on radio and answered callers who had been in the consultations – people she did not know and who genuinely wanted to know more about charter change. They came from all walks of life, not just local authorities or NGOs. "Of course, it is not possible to consult with everyone but this was a good mix of concerned people," she said.

I did not make it to the Baguio consultations but I promised to come at a later date. All this is to say that Betty Tabanda, member of the Concom, was a patriotic Filipino who wanted to contribute to the work of proposing amendments to the Constitution. She is sorry that after all the work we had done (Betty was among those who worked very hard) its merits are being questioned because of one transitory provision. It was she who made sure that the provision for protecting ancestral land was not touched. Then again she voted against the transitory provision of No-el in 2007 but graciously accepted defeat when the final tally was made.

When I asked her if she could bring me some pine cones, I half expected that she would not even bother. I tried hard to look for these in the past but have had no luck. When she came back from Baguio she gave me a sackful of pine cones. These decorate my house for Christmas – pine cones on the Christmas tree, arranged as a table centerpiece, in a basket for candles and made into wreaths. It is a pine cone Christmas for me this year. So when I read in newspapers about the Concom and the swirling controversy on the ‘no-el in 2007" it is just so unreal. It is a far cry on just what happened there and the persons who had taken part in it, Betty, for one. Thank you. This year I will have a refreshingly natural Christmas because of the pine cones you gave me. I have dumped the usual artificial ornaments straight into the wastebasket.

* * *

My e-mail is [email protected]