The cha-cha dancers are it again

ON DISTANT SHORE
By Val G. Abelgas

We shouldn’t even be discussing this. The idea of giving President Aquino a second term – pitched by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and pushed in the House of Representatives by Caloocan Rep. Edgar Irice – is so ridiculous it shouldn’t even deserve a comment.

The Constitution is very clear about allowing the President only a six-year term without any reelection. It would take an amendment to the Constitution for such a proposal to gain merit. But that’s precisely why despite the proposal’s absurdity, politicians and political pundits are debating it.

It seems the Liberal Party – in the absence of a potentially winnable candidate in the 2016 presidential elections – has floated the idea to see if it would pass muster among the people. Somebody has even started a social media campaign called “One More Term: Reelect P-Noy for 2016” that has recently flooded social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Malacanang cannot even agree on what Aquino’s stand on the proposal was, with Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma saying the President would definitely step down in 2016, and Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and his deputy, Abigail Valte, saying it’s the people who have a say on the issue. Valte even hinted that just as Aquino did not intend to run in 2010, he could also change his mind before 2016. While declaring that Aquino would definitely step down, Coloma said the administration would not lift a finger to stop the online campaign calling for another term for the President.

Aquino remained silent amid the brouhaha, making many believe that he had a hand in floating the proposal.

In the first place, it’s not up to Aquino to decide whether he wanted a second term or not. The Constitution mandates he cannot. It is up to both houses of Congress whether it would amend the Constitution to allow a second term. Or maybe, Malacanang is so certain Aquino controls Congress that it is really up to him to allow charter change. And the people ultimately decide it through a plebiscite.

It is so presumptuous of Aquino or his aides to believe that the people are raring to bring him back to office in 2016 even if, let’s say, the Constitution was amended in time to enable him to seek reelection. Their presumptions do not tally with recent surveys that show his approval, trust and satisfaction ratings taking big drops amid the corruption scandals that have plagued his “daang matuwid” administration, the nagging poverty, the spiraling prices of goods and services, the failed agrarian reform, the worsening power shortage, rampant smuggling, and many other problems that confront his administration.

Renato Reyes, secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the proposal is “bereft of any legal basis.”

“It is oblivious to the rising tide of discontent over Aquino and his pork barrel funds. It wrongly presumes that Aquino is God’s gift to the Filipino people and that it is in our best interest to keep him in power, perhaps forever,” Reyes said.

What worries me more, though, is the fact that they are considering amending the Constitution again, using the excuse that the country needs to continue the alleged reforms instituted by Aquino.

It’s like opening the mythical Pandora’s Box or a can of worms. Once these politicians are allowed to tamper with the Constitution, what will stop them from including the lifting of term limits on elected officials, the removal of the ban on political dynasties, the prohibition on foreign bases, the elimination of the ban on disbursing funds without congressional authorization, and many other provisions that run against their interests.?

The ill-timed and half-baked move to give Aquino a second term puts in jeopardy efforts by well-meaning lawmakers like Speaker Sonny Belmonte to amend some economic provisions of the Constitution to improve the country’s investment picture. Both Belmonte and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II are worried that the move to extend Aquino’s term will open the charter change bid to unfair speculations.

The floating of a second term for Aquino exposes the desperation of the Liberal Party to remain in power beyond 2016. The party’s presumptive presidential candidate, Mar Roxas, is trailing in the surveys and they don’t have a winnable alternative at this time.

That is also the reason the Aquino camp floated the idea of Vice President Jojo Binay, the consistent leader in the surveys among prospective presidential candidates, being adopted by the LP as guest candidate with possible Roxas as running mate. But when it appeared that several LP leaders didn’t welcome the idea and that Binay himself might not be lured into it, the Aquino camp then floated the idea of a second term for Aquino through Roxas.

“The second term call also aims to boost the sagging ratings of Aquino’s party mate, Mar Roxas. For what could be the next best thing to an Aquino second term than a Mar Roxas presidency that would continue Aquino’s supposed legacy?” Reyes said. Makes sense to me.

In an article entitled “DAP: A premeditated crime,” written on July 5 shortly after the Supreme Court handed its decision ruling Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional, I suggested that Aquino might consider Binay as his 2016 bet. I wrote:

“Aquino cannot be impeached for as long as he has Congress on his leash, nor criminally charged because of his presidential immunity. But he can be sent to jail, just like Arroyo and former President Joseph Estrada, after his term in 2016.

“This scary thought can change the political landscape in the remaining two years of Aquino’s term. Either he tries to find a very strong contender within his political party, or drop his party mates and support the most likely to win, at this time Vice President Jojo Binay, who is after all a longtime family friend, with a firm commitment that Aquino would not be prosecuted after his departure from Malacanang.”

If the idea of a second term for Aquino indeed came from the Aquino camp, it only means Aquino has not found a viable candidate against Binay. Or they have dropped the Binay adoption idea and would now focus on amending the constitution to allow a second term, believing that Aquino would still win. That’s how disrespectful of the Constitution our politicians are. As they say… only in the Philippines.

(valabelgas@aol.com)