Is P-Noy a reformist or a conformist?

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

When President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III ran for the land’s highest office in 2010, his slogan,“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” (No corruption, no poverty),caught the fancy of many voters, particularly the poor. It was an effective one-liner, killing two birds with one stone. And he hammered that in with his promise of “Pagbabago” or “Change.” And the people — who were sick and tired of the corruption that occurred during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo — were ready for change and Noynoy, as he was then known, was their man… their hero!

Touted as a “man of destiny,” Noynoy glowed golden in his trademark yellow shirt during the campaign as he awed the enthusiastic crowd with his populist oratory, in Pilipino. Sworn into office at age 50, P-Noy (nee Noynoy), made his first policy statement: “No more wang-wang.” It was a cunning attempt to woo the poor and the powerless to his side. And he immensely succeeded.

Today, three years after his election, P-Noy projected himself as a reformist, an anti-corruption crusader, defender of the poor, and a man of peace. A Manila-based columnist measured P-Noy in the rank of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the “Pride of the Malay Race,” saying: “P-Noy only has one more achievement to accomplish that will surely earn for him a status not far from Rizal; P-Noy only has to drastically break the yoke of poverty of half of Filipinos by political will, by moral courage, and by a powerful sense of destiny.”

But that was easier said than done. Today, in spite of a 7.8% growth in the first quarter, the poverty rate remains at just about the same level as when P-Noy assumed office in 2010. That year, the growth in the second quarter – Gloria’s last three months in office – was a record-breaking 8.9%! If P-Noy hopes to improve the lives of the people, he needs to work harder.

In my article, “Finally, a glimmer of hope” (January 3, 2011), I wrote: “Would P-Noy settle for a place in history that would border on mediocrity or would he strive to be an ‘Alexander’ and untie the Philippines’ complicated ‘Gordian Knot’ that has kept the country in a state of economic disarray and moral decadence? But unlike Alexander who sliced the knot in half with a stroke of his sword — known as the “Alexandrian solution” – and conquered the known world in the fourth century BC, P-Noy could untie his country’s ‘Gordian Knot’ by the power of persuasion. So far, he has yet to succeed.”

Maybe he is not persuasive enough. Perhaps he should “think outside the box.” But surely, he should do something out of the ordinary – using unconventional methods – and sharpen his political will. He can then attempt to break the yoke of poverty that has kept the Filipino people in perpetual bondage. And if he fails the first time, he can try harder the second time, the third time… until the yoke is broken to pieces.

Reforming the system

But the question is: Does P-Noy have the cojones to overhaul the “system” and get rid of the people who have entrenched themselves beyond the reach of the law? Indeed, they have become the new “untouchables.”

But let’s forget about people for the time being. Let’s delve into what“Pagbabago” really entails. In essence, if P-Noy changed the system to prevent corruption in government, then he would have accomplished 80% of his reforms. Then, and only then, can he proceed to change the other 20%; that is, the corrupt officials who are running the system for their personal aggrandizement.

By now, you’re probably wondering what is the “system” I was talking about? The system is the law of the land. At a minimum, P-Noy must create two new laws, the anti-dynasty law and the Freedom of Information (FOI) law. He must also revise or repeal the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

Anti-dynasty law

For starters, Congress must pass the Anti-Dynasty law, which has been passed over year after year by each Congress since 1987. The 1987 Constitution mandates the legislation of the Anti-Dynasty law as stated in Article II Section 26, to wit: “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.” However, the big hang-up is that Congress has failed to – or wouldn’t – pass the Anti-Dynasty law. Surmise it to say that with political dynasties entrenched in just about all the provinces, their influence transcends into the law-making Congress. Do you expect the dynasts in Congress to slash their own throats?

Freedom of Information

In my article, “FOI: P-Noy’s Foible” (August 29, 2012), I wrote:“P-Noy should – nay, must! – realize that his anti-corruption drive is not going to succeed without dismantling the patronage system that is protecting the corrupt. Only the passage of an FOI law could end corruption in government. Indeed, FOI is the key to winning the war on corruption.”

Although he promised to prioritize the FOI bill during campaign in 2010, P-Noy did not include it in his legislative priority agenda for the past four years. Recently, he promised again to include FOI in his 2014 legislative agenda.

Secret dollar accounts

Former Chief Justice Renato Corona during his impeachment trial

In my article, “P-Noy’s post-Corona challenges” (September 19, 2012), I wrote: “During the Corona impeachment trial, P-Noy promised that he would include in his legislative priority agenda the revision of the Foreign Currency Deposit Act (FCDA) to modify its “absolute confidentiality” clause to allow government agencies to look into the FCDA accounts of those under investigation. P-Noy has yet to do this.

“It was revealed during the recent Senate hearing on jueteng payola and the questionable arms deal that jueteng lords use PAGCOR casinos to launder their profits from jueteng. When asked by Sen. Defensor-Santiago, PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome revealed that casinos were not required to report gamblers’ substantial winnings to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) needs to be revised to make it more effective in combating money laundering.

“If P-Noy wants to fight corruption, he needs more than just slogans to do it. He should – nay, must — have the ability to track where the dirty or ill-gotten money goes. And to do that, he needs tools like FOI, FCDA, AMLA, and AMLC to catch the culprits. And only then can he claim that he is really serious about fighting corruption.”

Never too late

The bottom line is that unless – and this is a big UNLESS – P-Noy does all these changes to the law of the land, his reform agenda will fail. And if he continues to conform to bad laws that breed corruption, he might as well kiss his reform agenda goodbye.

At the end of the day, one wonders if P-Noy is truly a reformist or is he an unsuspecting conformist of bad laws? Time is running out. If he wanted to be in the league of Rizal, he’d better get his act together. It’s never too late.

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)