Change and moving on

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- My deepest condolences to the family and relatives of the late manong Joe Dacawi. He taught me a lot more important things about newspapering that one cannot learn inside the classroom when I was new in the Midland Courier and he was the paper’s city page editor.

We will miss manong Joe’s firmness and straightforwardness, but memories of him will live on in the minds of friends and relatives. And so with the family and relatives of the late Bonnie G. Tanduyog of La Trinidad and Kapangan, a cousin by affinity, being the cousin of my cousins on my father’s side.

Bonnie was the kind of guy who looks for something to do for the needy and always asks the question “Anya timaitulong ta?”

A regular patron in music bars in the 70s, 80s and 90s who always sought the company of friends, he was almost late in raising a family of his own.

When he announced that he was going to get hitched to a beauty from Buguias, he made people very happy but at the same time, made others cry, especially his circle of friends who he was with from sunrise to sunset.

With Bonnie’s marriage to Charito, he automatically got “divorced” with partner Cesar Abalos who cried tears of joy. This time with his untimely departure, I suspect he made Boss FrankyAbalos and other very special people shed tears. But surely his memories of kindness and omnipresent smile will be remembered. My deepest sympathy to Charito and daughter Ayla, to his siblings and relatives.
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Unless the sunrise and the sunset stop coming, there are two things in the world that are unavoidable – “change and moving on.”

People will say these are one and the same but I look at them as two different things. Change happens every second when one is alive and kicking and sleeping, and even after death when the body is decomposing, while “moving on” is leaving something behind without necessarily changing.

These could also be seen on a different angle. Change could come after moving on, or it could happen the other way where change comes first before moving on.

There are hundreds of more vivid illustrations. For example, there are public officials who move on because they continue to win in elections but they do not change. Look around you and you will see one.

There are plenty of them in city hall and everywhere. Some of them continue to move on even when they have changed position from occupying one high spot to a lower one, or that they have changed positions in order to perpetuate what they have done during their previous stint. These things will continue unless changes are made in the laws that allow them or not allow them to do so.

Last week, newspapers reported that Senator Juan Ponce Enrile was thinking of reviving proposals for amending the Constitution. I also heard a TV host comment about the election to public office of politicians who have brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, cousins and bayaws who were also elected to public office in other congressional districts or LGUs, or as senators.

To avoid the same things from happening in the future, the law concerning this should be changed. Without changing or crafting a new law, delicadeza should apply. But only a handful of politicians will do that. Instead, they will say “delicadonsa.”

Then there is also the need to amend the term of service for an elected public official. For the position of senator and President, he only gets to serve a single straight six years. Although he has powers in the tip of his fingers, he is already considered a lame duck at the time he is elected because he may no longer be able to run for another term.

Unless the politician first grabs power, finishes the unfinished years of the poor victim of the power grab, then runs again in a new election, like someone that we know.

For a good President, he can implement a lot of changes. For a bad one, he or she can go very bad and steal away all the money he or she wants, like someone that we know.

For congressmen and LGU politicians, they only get to serve three years in a single term, and may be re-elected for two more terms, making a total number of nine years in service if continuously re-elected.

In a single term of three years, the scenario could be the ff: in the first six months following the midterm election, the elected official goes around thanking his supporters, fixes the unfinished work of his predecessor while waiting for new funds for new project proposals.

The second year following the election year comes as his first full year where the new project proposals may now be executed. This will continue until the first six months of the next year; however the second half of this year will be eaten up by political repositioning, political alignments, and the Comelec registration of candidates in November. What is left is the first six months of the last year which is an election year.

Except for the President and senators, practically all the rest of the elected officials in the country worked effectively for an average of only 18 months or one and a half years. The rest of the time of public service officially went to political affairs.

In the case of senatorial candidates Koko Pimentel and MigsZubiri, it took almost four years from 2007 to 2011 for the problem to be resolved. Records show that Pimentel already won but if not for Zubiri’s resignation, the case could have continued till next year. The process in resolving electoral conflicts should be restudied too and has to be shortened in order that the true wining candidates are able to serve their mandate.

But we cannot do anything because there are stupid laws that we have to follow. To be able to serve the public properly therefore, is to have the number of years of a term amended. I do favor going back to the time when elected public officials served a term for four years, plus one re-election. That should also apply to the election of senators and Presidents.

Electoral reforms should be continuing. I do wish Enrile has this in his list of reforms. Only then can we effect change and really move on. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com