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Subject: Roco: System Doesn't allow anyone like him to Succeed. Author: m.i.b. - poltical information article [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 18:33:29 08/09/05 Tue " Scum, not cream, rises " BIG DEAL By DAN MARIANO Raul Roco was not only the best president the Philippines never had. The former congressman, senator and education secretary was also the best national leader this country could never have had—given present circumstances. The existing political system simply does not allow anyone like him to succeed. In fact, it is a wonder that Raul Roco got as far as he did. The old saw goes, cream rises to the top. But all too frequently in the Philippines, it is scum that rises. What we have is not a bucket of fresh milk, but a primeval swamp teeming with lowlife. The ongoing political crisis best illustrates the scum-like qualities of our politicians. In the face of pressure, our political leaders exhibit, not the best, but the worst in our national character. Instead of responsible leadership, what we see is driving ambition. Rather than service, what we get is greed of a sort that regards public office as an opening for personal—and familial—enrichment. In place of inspiring example, we are treated to the kind of cynicism that does not hesitate to prevaricate even when confronted with a preponderance of evidence. What we have are leaders who are quick to invoke our most cherished ideals and pay lip service to them, then proceed to behave in brazen violation of these same core values. There is another saying that gets repeated again and again in these times of deep national depression: we get the government that we deserve. That may strike some people as self-evident but it is really just another way of saying that we Filipinos are too stupid, too weak-willed, too lazy to know what is good for us. If you believe in that, then we are a doomed people who deserve to be scattered to the four corners of the globe to live off our destiny as the hewers of wood and drawers of water of other nations. Thanks to this self-flagellating school of thought, many Filipinos have begun to believe that we are indeed a race of slaves. If he were still alive, I would bet my last centavo that Raul Roco would rise to the podium and argue—as only he could—against this contemptuous view of his people. Filipinos are not any worse, or any better, than the rest of mankind. Failure of leadership should not be attributed to the entire nation. Our problem is that we have a political system programmed to perpetuate in power the kind of leaders who all too frequently betray the nation. It is a system that is designed to frustrate, not just popular preference, but also public interest. In the case of Raul Roco, surveys done before the 1998 and 2004 elections showed that millions of Filipinos wanted to vote him into Malacañan. In the run-up to last year’s presidential race, in particular, preelection opinion polls projected him as the runaway winner. Then, the political operators got to work. It was downhill all the way for him thereafter. The last two presidential elections give incontrovertible proof that the presidential system has not served the nation well—and it never will. It has elevated crooks and clowns to the country’s highest political office, but shut the door on those, such as Raul Roco, who were best prepared and best motivated to lead the nation. We never got to know what he thought of parliamentary government—and I do not mean to make a dead man give testimony in behalf of an idea that he probably did not favor. Nonetheless, I believe Raul Roco would have been an outstanding prime minister had he been allowed to operate within a parliamentary setup. In order to secure a seat in parliament, all that he would have had to do was to stand for office in his old congressional district in Camarines Sur. He would not have had to cut deals with unsavory characters in order to raise campaign funds. For sure, he would not have solicited donations from numbers racket operators or drug syndicates or kidnap-for-ransom gangs, as some of his opponents in the 1998 and 2004 contests were rumored to have done. In a parliamentary system, the temptation to ask for campaign contributions from questionable sources would be reduced, if not eliminated altogether. Raul Roco, with the solid support of constituents who have known him all his life, would have been a shoo-in as an MP. In parliament itself, Raul Roco would have been a figure difficult, if not impossible, to ignore. As a legislator, he shone the brightest in collegial bodies. His record as a member of the House of Representatives and, later, as Senator could put many of his colleagues to shame. He authored so many bills—and, more important, shepherded them to enactment—that he was a virtual one-man legislative mill. His stint as education secretary revealed his administrative talents. He devised reforms that not only combated graft but also raised the quality of service his department delivered. In a parliamentary system, where premium is placed on party building, Raul Roco would have had an edge. His Aksyon Demokratiko had the makings of a political formation anchored on ideology and a clear program of government. Its youth wing, Aksyon Kabataan, functioned as a training ground for the rising generation of leaders from all across the archipelago. That Raul Roco’s two presidential campaigns got as far as they did—running almost entirely on the energy and enthusiasm of volunteers—amply reflected his inspiring leadership. Raul Roco had the legislative, executive and party-building skills that would have made him a natural prime minister. If only we had given him the chance to do so. ;-( M.I.B. http://insidebuzz.tripod.com [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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[> Subject: Stop this Propaganda War . . Author: ABS NEWS on-line [Edit] Date Posted: 18:39:31 08/09/05 Tue Stop this propaganda war Some people view politics as actually the battlefield of interests, not of morals. This belief posits that politics is primarily concerned with resolving conflicting interests; the morality of how the conflicts are resolved does not matter. It maintains that all is fair—as in war, so in politics. The moralists among the politicians will undoubtedly dispute this view, but we submit the congressional investigations into the Garci tapes and jueteng payoffs as Exhibit A to show that morals are not the prime consideration of politics. It will show that the two congressional inquiries are being conducted not in aid of legislation but to win public opinion in aid of furthering conflicting political interests. The Congress floor has in fact been turned into a bloody propaganda battleground, with both the administration and the opposition using the investigations into the Garci tapes and the proliferation of jueteng to strengthen their positions. The combatants go to the hearings in full force and in full battle gear, with their tongues as their main weapon. As though in collusion with the two protagonists, the media, reporting from the war zone, have been giving thorough coverage to this battle to capture public sympathy and support. Senators are notorious for ignoring committee work, but the jueteng probe is an exception. They certainly can’t pass up the opportunity to be in the public eye. So many of them attend the hearing. The House probe into the wiretapped tapes has been a virtual circus, with as many as 80 congressmen seeking a share of public attention. The stand of the congressional investigators is defined by their own prejudices, and their questions and comments are molded by their biases. There have been charges and countercharges of coaching and buying witnesses. If there is rent a crowd for political rallies, there also seems to be rent a witness for congressional inquiries. Testimonies are given and recanted, with congressional probers highlighting the aspects of a testimony that are pleasing to them or to their principals. Administration critics do everything in the book to discredit any witness who tends to favor President Arroyo and members of her family. Her supporters whale away at any witness who would testify that the first family was involved in jueteng and that she had rigged the 2004 presidential election. The vicious propaganda war is keeping the citizens confused. National interest has played second fiddle to political interest in the inquiries. The truth must set us free, but it is lamentably elusive in the congressional hearings. Or, it could actually be staring us in the face, but we can’t recognize it, because it has been coated with half-lies. Congress should undertake inquiries to formulate more effective and more responsive laws, not to widen the gulf against national unity. It’s high time Congress stopped using legislative inquiries as battlefields for propaganda and starts using them for what they really are—in aid of legislation. >" Scum, not cream, rises " >BIG DEAL By DAN MARIANO > >Raul Roco was not only the best president the >Philippines never had. The former congressman, senator >and education secretary was also the best national >leader this country could never have had—given present >circumstances. The existing political system simply >does not allow anyone like him to succeed. >> >;-( > >M.I.B. >http://insidebuzz.tripod.com [ Post a Reply to This Message ]