EDITORIAL - Six more years of Aquino?

Considering that the Constitution can be amended to suit the purpose, then it is neither illegal nor far-fetched to have President Aquino run again for another term. All that needs to be done is change the provision limiting the president to a single six-year term with one that says he can run for re-election. With a Congress of allies that can turn itself promptly into a constituent assembly and a public that can easily be bought to ratify the amendments, why not indeed?

But the problem is, do we have to? Is there even a clamor for more of Aquino? To begin with, Aquino is only a minority president. There were actually more people who did not vote for him in 2010 than those who did. Aquino won the presidency only because the majority who did not vote for him voted for other candidates, thus spreading and diluting the anti-Aquino vote.

There cannot be a clamor for more of Aquino because in survey after survey, his approval ratings have consistently been going down. And while they remain high when measured against the fantastically low numbers of his immediate predecessor, there is no way to read Aquino's steadily plummeting ratings except that his support is eroding.

Any supposed clamor, therefore, to justify any move to amend the Constitution to allow Aquino to run again can only exist in the imagination of his most rabid drumbeaters. Simply put — it does not exist in the national pulse. So, if there is no clamor, where did all this talk about having more of Aquino emanate? Who is responsible for this terrible joke?

Whether he was the first to float the bad idea is not clear, but most people think it was DILG secretary Mar Roxas who did. At least that was what he suggested in a television interview, that he has no objections to Aquino running for re-election if that can be done. Most people who saw Roxas say that felt a surge of pity for the man whose own performance in surveys of potential presidential candidates has been dismal at best.

Some are thinking that Roxas would rather that Aquino continue on as president than have somebody else elected at his expense. It was Roxas who had actually been his party's de facto nominee for president until Cory Aquino died and the political landscape changed to favor Cory's son. Roxas had to step aside or else the whole party loses.

But now that the term of Aquino is nearing its end, Roxas cannot bear the thought that he might be bypassed again because of his flagging numbers. In fact, the vice president, Jejomar Binay, who has maintained close relations with Aquino despite being with the opposition, has himself floated the idea of his being adopted by the ruling party as its standard-bearer. That must have panicked Roxas.

All that, however, are side issues. The main thing is whether or not this country and its people should allow the Constitution to be amended just so Aquino can run again. Does Aquino really deserve another term? More importantly, do Filipinos need more of the same? Filipinos should make known their sentiments. And when all is said and done, here is a final question — should a man who trampled the Constitution over DAP be made a beneficiary of a constitutional amendment?