We, the people, elect members of Congress to be our representatives precisely to represent our interests. Their primary duty is to enact laws for the common good.
With the power of the purse, Congress remains a counterbalance to the Executive and the Judicial branches.
So far, the Philippines, when it adopted the Republican kind of government, the democratic space we live in has been observed. There were instances of tyranny but in the end democracy prevailed.
But now we have some characters in Congress who want to change this balance of power. Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas filed a bill that would enable Congress to have its own police force, independent of the Philippine National Police.
Surprisingly, this idea has its supporters.
I do not know what is becoming of our duly elected representatives in Congress, but not content with their privileges, they now want to be set apart from the rest of us. They want their own police force to protect them and their families.
This is an outright condemnation of the PNP that is supposed to serve and protect us the people.
Fariñas seems to be the point man of some other members of Congress who want privilege at the people’s expense.
First, he wanted lawmakers to be exempt from traffic regulations. And now this,
I wonder what his next bright idea is.
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Senator Richard Gordon was the first chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Under him, things ran smoothly. His successor, Tong Payumo, achieved the same. During those times, I was a frequent visitor to Subic. I liked the environment.
Then came Executive Order 340 which separated the positions of chairman and administrator. I was against this because I foresaw the inevitable turf war between the two top officials. I was at SBMA when the security forces of the chairman and the administrator confronted each other. It became a battleground.
That was the result of the power struggle.
Things went well during the regime of President BS Aquino III. But when President Duterte took power, he appointed his PDP Laban co-member, Martin Diño, as chairman. Then a new administrator came in.
With Executive Order No. 42, making lawyer Wilma Eisma both chairman and administrator, I think we can expect more peaceful days.
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President Duterte told reporters that he would like his daughter Sara to succeed him as president. Some thought the President was joking. But he was serious.
Now Sara Duterte is fair game for critics. They say the Dutertes are creating a dynasty of their own. Unless the President says otherwise, everything that Sara says and does will be interpreted as being in aid of presidential ambition.
I hate to say it but the President’s off-the-cuff statements frequently land him in trouble. Because of this, spokesman Ernesto Abella often finds himself in difficult situations. I must give it to him for working so hard.
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The Duterte administration should address the findings of the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness report. The Philippines ranks the 56th most competitive out of 137 countries in the survey, but it is the second worst—next only to Venezuela—in the number of procedures to start a business.
The report cited the poor government bureaucracy here. No wonder we remain far behind our Asean neighbors in investments.
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I really wonder why students would want to join a fraternity just to belong. They know very well they would be subjected to pain and difficulty.
I do not see any logic in it. I used to warn my children about these organizations. Do good in school so you would not feel the need to belong.