What did we learn from the extra-judicial ouster of an elected president? The 1987 Constitution? Our generation was fooled into believing that the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was evil and the late former President Cory Aquino who seized power from him in 1986 was a saint. We were naive then but for those who were critical thinkers, 1987 was the turning point.
Once such critical thinker back then is PhilStar columnist Alex Magno who, in his piece today, recalls the exasperation he felt over the flawed thinking that went into the 1987 “yellow constitution” the outcome of which now find us “stuck with a constitutional framework that saps the vitality of our nation’s progress”. Magno issues further indictment citing, in particular, its two key anti-progress features…
In response to criticism the system of representation that dynasts will be revived, the framers of the Charter we now have introduced term limits. That was a harebrained idea. Term limits prevented our voters from retaining good leaders. The dynasts simply maneuvered around term limits to maintain their stranglehold over political power.
Term limits did not reward good performers and did not at all foster constant transfusion of the political class. We have the current political elite as testimony to that failing.
I disagreed with restoring a Senate, elected at large. This was a ploy by Quezon to strengthen his party’s dominance during the Commonwealth period. Post-1987, this system favored celebrity politicians. With a weak political party system, actors and athletes who already enjoyed name-recall dominated senatorial elections.
Just a couple of years into this experiment with the Yellowtard charter, we found ourselves advocating Cory’s ouster through the efforts of Juan Ponce Enrile (JPE) and the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM). It was Uncle Sam who saved Cory at the last minute in 1989. It was also Uncle Sam who got Fidel Ramos “elected” in 1992 by the thinnest of margins.
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The 1987 Constitution is 37 years old this year and since its ratification, we haven’t achieved much other than to reclaim our title as the Sick Man of Asia, as Magno put it. Indonesia and Vietnam have zipped past us. Our economic growth is consumption-driven instead of the ideal manufacturing-driven. The definition of employment is suspect and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) doesn’t publish any underemployment numbers. We’re still beset by basic Third World problems despite our supposed nearing middle income status. Ask the average Pinoy and he will say he’s barely surviving. Our farmers and fisher folk are still the poorest of the poor despite agrarian reform being implemented since 1972. Our agricultural productivity continues to decline instead of increase.
The move to amend the constitution may be self-serving but we should grab it by the horns lest the opportunity passes again. We don’t need the Senators anymore. But they can only be dragged out kicking and screaming from that new “state of the art building” they will be moving into. Nonetheless, we should push for constitutional amendments not only of the economic provisions but also the political structure because these are the foundations of any hope for the future of the country.
The calls for the resignation of President Bongbong Marcos don’t do anyone any good except for the obvious direct beneficiary, Vice-President Inday Sara Duterte. I don’t think Inday or even her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has sanctioned this call. This pettiness seems to emanate from an utterly ill-informed and misguided community of Tards that form one or the other of the cults of personality that infest the political discourse today. It’s about time we exercise political maturity and stay within the bounds of the law as our past experience with the false people power has burned us twice already.
Cook wide reader political crackpot music afficionado old soul out-of-the box thinker aspiring writer tech geek gearhead
To those who can do this and finish it please:
Make physical and visual online posters for Charter Change to be delivered to every establishment.
An online educational and informative e-referendum about charter change which will then get a signature from the citizen which then will collect from every region totalling all the support for Charter Change that the Senate/Congress and the Marcos Jr. Admin cannot ignore.
We can talk about this all day.
So this is taking action.
For those who are willing to start this, our future depends on it.
Non-stop campaign
To our future
So very true! The 1987 Constitution has driven the country backwards–especially in terms of economic growth. Its provisions, which reek of protectionism instead of being much more open to enhanced free trade and free enterprise (as in the case with our ASEAN neighbours, whose economies have vigorously prospered), have done more harm than good. They also hinder more FDIs from coming into the country. Contrast this to Thailand, which made that quantum leap over the last four decades from a low-income to an upper-middle income country; aside from sustained growth fueled by exports as well as a vigorous tourism and services sector (Thailand is now one of the Top 5 tourist havens in the world), a strong, diversified agricultural sector which, in turn, has helped reduce poverty while, at the same time, making Thai agri products truly world-class, much also can be accredited to its liberal investment laws that encourage its economy to move up even further. True, much has to be done to intensify a campaign for making amendments to our outdated Constitution–and to weigh in the plus sides vis-a-vis rapidly changing socio-economic trends if we want our country to fully prosper. Let us also remember along this light the adage, ‘the only thing that is changeless in this world, is change.’
People who support the current protectionism in Philippines never learned from the country’s failures and the Singapore’s successes. Even China opened their economy to foreign investments during Deng’s rule. Sir Donald Tsang of Hong Kong once said that keeping foreign businesses out of the country will simply hurt the people.
The Philippines is not Singapore nor China, you do not have a small city-state nor a uniparty government with strict authoritarian rule. You have a collection regionalistic narrow minded provinces that do not want to cooperate. If you think opening up foreign investment will solve our joke of a standard of living then you’re blinder than a diabetic.
I pray for Philippines to be healed.
Sayang. Look at Thailand, kahit di sila strong sa English, malaki improvement. Pati Sony cameras, Made in Thailand.
Philippines is a very promising land…talented Pinoys, God-fearing, marunong makisama, masipag, may good command of English…yun lang masyado ding emotional.
Sa Singapore, I’ve observed na may entrepreneurial mindset mga kabataan dito. Di din sila ma pride. Di sila mahilig sa mga celebrity culture.
I think malaking factor sa atin yung media. Not only yung news , pero yung mga paulit ulit na teleserye themes. Dapat more on mga kabuhayan tips or mga positibong palabas.
Pinas! I pray for you sincerely
Sana dumating ang araw na mag bloom tayo. At mabawasan mga mayayabang na Pilipino.
the differnce is, thailand does not have a white jesus.
our white jesus will not allow our women to give out hand jobs
Talented Pinoys? Look at the average IQ ranking by country. God-fearing? Most of them have no discipline and they often disobey laws. Many of them are very arrogant and toxic too even in online. Why do you think many people call them “Peenoise” in Dota 2 or World of Warcraft? Want more? How can you say that they’re God-fearing if they elect political candidates who have pending cases, criminal conviction and one who’s extremely arrogant and foul-mouthed?
actually, visayans identify themselves more as “bisaya” rather than “pinoy”, and i speak from experience.
the concept of filipino nationhood is flawed, even up to today, the southern provinces dont really buy wholeheartedly into the whole “filipino” thing.
manila might as well be another country,
tagalogs are treated with contempt or mocked behind their backs, unless they adapt to the more pleasant and agreeable nature of the bisaya
God those Bisayas thinking they’re some economic bigshot, they’ve always been moaning about Imperial Manila yet they still can’t generate enough GDP to lift themselves always crying about Luzon.
Filipinos need to be known for something collectively — as in make a mark in the world as a people. It’s easy to cherry-pick exceptional individuals and then hitch the entire nation on their achievements. That’s not what makes a people great because that only further highlights the idolatrous culture that hinders progress in the Philippines.
@benign0: “It’s easy to cherry-pick exceptional individuals and then hitch the entire nation on their achievements.”
Indeed, that is true.
That is one thing, but then, there’s this other thing, a cultural dysfunction, that you don’t to get to write about.
What are your thoughts on parasitic Filipinos who exhibit one-way association with the achievements of other nations and then try to posture themselves as exceptional individuals even though they have no clear nor noteworthy contribution to speak of in relation to such foreign achievements?
They even license themselves with this ‘association card’ in admonishing others to make them feel exceptional… these parasites…
hey benign0 ever tried touching grass, maybe you should try meeting people and not sound like some sissy stuck on your walled garden love iyakmacoy 😉
Faith without works is dead. Praying for the Philippines to be healed is a tall order. Honestly, PH had the chance in the 80s-90s which was lost in time. Ningas kugon, ika nga. The lack of nature and nurture for these Filipinos to thrive locally just makes them best candidates for a Brain Drain. Filipinos are not intellectually inclined. It is time to ask the critical questions to these people and solve it themselves.
In People’s Republic Of China, mas disciplined, di mahilig sa celebrity culture; it is about military first. Almost no wokes.
No wokes, lmao too much leftists in your skull, living rent free and China disciplined ever heard of the lying flat movement more than a quarter of college graduates don’t have jobs. Try reading up on other countries than huffing 4chan threads kiddo
Ano ito puro mga macoytards sino nagsulat nito isang bata. Kung magsalita akala mo nagbasa, nakakahiya, magkano bayad, nakakabili pa ba ng bigas. hahaha
Benign0? Whaddya think of 1973 Constitution? It made Filipinos disciplined even without human rights under Marcos.
Disciplined my bloody ass, if discipline is all you need you just need to show a few televised death sentences. Stop being blinded by rose-tinted glasses, geez you sound worse than those Hispanistas get real boy