Japan in recession? What about the US?

Come to think of it, the recent coup hatched by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile last Monday, together with Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan and others like Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was the only successful coup that the dynamic duo orchestrated since the EDSA Revolt 22 years ago. That coup suddenly put Sen. Enrile as Senate President, a post that he said that he never even dreamed of. But what can we expect from this leadership change? Nothing much, unless Sen. Pres. Enrile does the unexpected and recall the times that he used to order so many people around in the days of Martial Rule.

As we’ve always said, the Philippine Senate President under the 1987 Constitution has become inutile because, thanks to the multi-party system, not a single political group can claim to have a huge control of this august body. Whoever is Senate President has to jockey for control and play patsy with those who would support him. Quid pro quo. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

This was what was inherently wrong with the Cory Constitution. The Vice-President is nothing but a mere spare-tire for the President and can only be of use if the President appoints him like what happened to Vice-President Noli de Castro who heads the Housing group. Yet in the local level, Vice-Governor Greg Sanchez is head of the Provincial Board, while Vice-Mayor Michael Rama is head of the Cebu City Council. So why can the Vice-President be the Senate President like what they have in the United States? Well, it can only be undone if we hold a Constitutional Convention (concon) so we can block vote the President with the Vice-President who then becomes the Senate President and therefore prevent future coups from happening to the Senate.

* * *

By the time this column is out of the press, I will be flying to Tokyo, Japan for the burial of Mrs. Sachiko Kono, the mother-in-law of my sister Adela A. Kono who died a month and a half ago. While half her ashes is buried in Cempark, my brother-in-law Yuki wants the other half of her ashes buried beside his father in their family plot in Narita, very close to the airport. It will be my first time to witness a Japanese funeral ritual.

My trip to Japan will also allow me to check out how Japan looks like in a recession. Germany was the first to “officially admit” that it is in recession, followed by Japan’s formal admission that it is also in recession. Japan is the world’s second largest economy; if it is in recession, what about the US, the biggest economy in the world? The global financial meltdown has affected the world’s major economies; it is only a matter of time until other countries admit that they too are in recession.

The automotive industry is one of the major businesses in Japan and Germany with the United States as their principal market. With the US Auto industry taking a bad beating because of the financial meltdown, there’s no doubt that this would affect the Japanese and German automotive industry. That Germany and eventually Japan declared they are in recession is due to poor sales in the US market.

Meanwhile, the whole world is waiting for the United States to make a similar declaration. However I would like to believe that Pres. Bush isn’t so keen on making this announcement because he would be known in US history as the worst US President for going to war in Iraq that did not do anything against America, at the same time, bungling the US economy. I’m sure that Pres. Dubya Bush would rather let the incoming President Barrack Obama make that decision, whether or not American is in a recession.

Whatever it is, Americans will never forget that under the Bush administration, the US economy faltered. Pres. George Herbert Walker Bush, the father of President Bush only had one single term, from 1989 to 1993 because he lost to Pres. William Jefferson Clinton 1993 to 2001. Why did Pres. Bush lose to Pres. Clinton despite having the huge advantage of the US tumultuous victory over Desert Storm, the first Iraq War? It was due to a failing US economy. Under the Clinton Administration, the US enjoyed a good economy, until the unexpected financial meltdown of Wall Street.

I will be bringing my laptop to Japan and doing columns about my trip. However, I’m not sure whether I can secure a Wi-Fi connection or find an Internet Café. If I do, you’ll get to read my travel report next week. However I won’t be reached through my cellphone as their systems in Japan are not compatible with our GSM network. But it would be interesting to learn what they have. So for once in a long time, I will be enjoying a cellphone holiday!