HAPPY WEEKEND
>> Sunday, December 9, 2007
Caretaker government and electoral reforms
GINA DIZON
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- The call for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign is on with the consequent question of either calling for a snap election or the installation of a caretaker government to momentarily hold power in preparation for the regular elections in 2010.
Moves for installing a caretaker government is under the leadership of Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomya and the Laban ng Masa. The KME had called for designating the Chief Justice as caretaker President pending the election of a president and vice president in 2010.
Such an envisioned caretaker government takes on a radical step to implement reforms in this country which has shown persistent moves to repeatedly oust Arroyo from her seat and who along the process has also repeatedly survived radical coup attempts with a supportive mainstream army and police beside her. With a president who is going to sit for ten years since her election last 2001 is on the hot seat.
These persistent moves to make Arroyo step down along with her seemingly non-existent vice president obviously for a number of reasons include among others the Hello Garci tapes which exposed the president’s dishonesty in having won the 2001 elections, the Diosdado Macapagal highway graft controversy and a number of extra judicial killings which are yet still unsolved.
On the other hand, a movement urging Arroyo to resign and call for a snap election is being called by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and coup leader Sen. Antonio Trillanes among others. At this time, it would be good to look at the current experience of Bangladesh in how it is dealing with its political issues through the assumption of a caretaker government late last year.
The Bangladesh caretaker government has postponed the regular elections which was supposed to be conducted March this year to December next year pending reforms in the electoral process including updating the voter list and include every citizen legitimately considered a bona fide voter in the list
Along with electoral reforms being done on the way is the government ‘s resolve to rid the government of misfits who had been raking in money from the government’s coffers for their personal aggrandizement .
The Anti Corruption Commission has gotten both former Prime Ministers Bangladesh Nationalist Party Zhia Khaleda, her son, Tarique Rahman, senior joint secretary general of BNP; and Awami League Leader and former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina sued for corruption charges. Both are detained along with top officials in government accused of graft and extortion charges.
With a country which is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world in the first five of the scale while considered as one of the poorest countries also, the moves of the caretaker government comes as a breather for the mass of the 140 million people of Bangladesh in their quest for a better governance.
To contain a political situation which may go volatile anytime, the parallel support of the Bangladesh army led by General Moeen Ahmed for the caretaker government led by Chief Adviser Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed to institute electoral reform measures and moves against corruption, apparently, is going on smoothly.
Back to Philippine setting, how relevant are these political movements in the life of Juan de la Cruz ? One of the reform measures called for by KME and Laban ng Masa is the revamp of the Commission on Elections and the implementation of anti-poverty measures like lowering of the cost of other basic commodities.
Electoral reforms along with a new administration is indeed a crucial thing to consider before the 2010 elections.
Obviously, one of these electoral reforms is the genuineness of how much a candidate really has to spend in an election campaign including money to buy votes. In Mountain Province, despite reported massive vote buying, election expenditures submitted at the Commission on Elections bared scandalous contrasting figures.
Mountain Province Rep. Victor Dominguez reported a measly P 237,2310 representing cost for food and transportation expenses and other donations in the recent 2007 May elections with a jurisdiction composed of some 86,000 voters. Can you believe that? Yet, every congressman and those who ran in higher positions could have spent millions to gain a prized political seat as a governor or a congressman for that matter.
This submitted amount of course is fishy with millions reportedly spent during the recent May 2007 elections. For one, this solon allegedly gave out P1,500 per poll watcher and an additional P500 per assistor. With at least two watchers per precinct in the 612 precincts of Mountain Province , this would amount to P1.8 million. And this is less the amounts given to assistors and the money spent during the whole campaign period.
Commission on Elections rules provide that candidates can only spend a maximum of P5 per voter if an Independent candidate while those belonging to a party can spend maximum of P3 per voter. To abide with the law, a political candidate could only come up with doctored list of expenditures in order to abide with the law. Yet, are these figures true?
Is the Comelec monitoring the actual amount spent vis a vis the expenditures submitted? Otherwise, submission of expenditures is only a formality, nothing more nothing less, to rid elections of whatever election irregularity there may be like vote buying.
With loose and toothless implementation of the law, massive vote buying goes unhampered. Check for statements and data by the Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting and you will note how money could flood the streets during elections as if money has rained from heaven and a new life of abundance has come down to earth. But of course, that is one flick of a finger of ease in exchange for years of suffering. That is, how much of electoral reforms can the envisioned caretaker government do from here where massive vote buying is concerned.
Whether the voting list is updated is another question. Accounts have been heard of names of dead people still in the voter list. One voting precinct in the north which listed the name of a dead person has been found out to have been utilized as a vote. Along with this irregularity, include flying voters who register in more than one precinct.
Anomalies go on and on and a caretaker government, if it is going to institute electoral reforms as its priority move will be moving in the right direction. While it is a question of how supportive the Philippine army and police will be in this endeavor is another question as a caretaker government obviously is a revolutionary approach which needs the back up of a strong armed force to institute the necessary measures..
Voting practices so far have gone unchecked and a snap election is not going to check electoral reforms. Starting on the right foot is needed to begin a model. Calling on a snap election will perpetuate the same electoral system where cheating may happen. Installing reforms would be better to be in place first.
While this is the case, the Philippine government has yet to be serious in implementing anti corruption drives first and foremost to its alleged erring officers and officials who are accused of graft and corruption. The serious moves of the caretaker government of Bangladesh against corruption are inspiring and serious endeavors to be copied by countries whose respective public officers are exercising corruption in their very offices and depriving people of the needed services.
For one, the slow action on Department of Public Works and Highways regional director Mariano Alquiza and other top DPWH officials are yet to be suspended or discharged from office despite investigation that irregularities indeed has been performed over road infrastructure projects on the 100 year old dilapidated Halsema highway up north in the Philippines.
Charges against President Arroyo for electoral fraud and corruption remain unheeded which is one of the reasons why the Philippine was considered the most corrupt in Asia in an earlier study by Hongkong –based consultancy group, Political and Economic Risk Council .
With a caretaker government in the offing, a serious drive to wipe out corrupt people in government would be a radical move for such transition government to institute. At the same time, a snap election is being bannered as a political move by other political personalities especially disgruntled senators and congressmen in the government’s fold.
These twin measures are being presented for Juan de La Cruz of the Philippine Republic to choose from. Either way, the measures initially call for president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign.
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