http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2013/09/22/1236693/what-are-transition-councils
What
are transition councils for?
(The
Philippine Star) |
Updated
September 22, 2013 - 12:00am
With
Noynoy Aquino fast developing into a lame duck president, the talk
among responsible Filipinos is how to move on — what do we do
to make sure the country does not deteriorate beyond repair.
We
have been let down so grievously by those to whom we have entrusted
the running of our country.
We
need to tackle national problems strewn in the wake of the latest
government crises – the Napoles expose of pork barrel scam and the
fighting in Zamboanga that has cost dozens of lives and with no
prospect of ending. Letting it just fester will be our doom.
More
and more are thinking of seizing hold of the situation instead of
letting matters just drift. There are various scenarios to consider —
the most crucial of which is to create a transition government and
get the most able, experienced and patriotic Filipinos with unsullied
reputations whether in or out of government to keep the country’s
institutions running properly.
It
may be ironic but the first task of preserving our chosen democratic
way of life is to create a revolutionary government acting as a
transition council. The test of revolutionary government would be to
write a new Constitution and overhaul the entire system of
governance.
We
must keep repeating that to ourselves that any other solution will
fall short of stopping pork barrel scams and public moneys being
filched by politicians to the detriment of the country. Neither do we
have the luxury of time.
Opinion
( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
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To
those with reservations and hope that something can still be done to
save the country from utter perdition should be reminded that at
present all officials elected in 2010 and 2013 are illegally
occupying their posts. The government acting through the Comelec is
stonewalling all questions regarding this election so the duty falls
on the citizenry to pick up the gauntlet.
These
elections were failed elections and remain unresolved to this day.
How
can an illegal government try the criminals of the Napoles pork
barrel scams when it does not have the mandate from the people?
Moreover,
the investigation is being made by people who took part in the crime
either by actual commission or neglect in doing something about it.
We have a government claiming to be against corruption and yet abets
the very same corruption. We are deceived.
If
we are to create a new society it must be founded on moral principles
of government. The revelations of the pork barrel scams leave us no
options unless we meet the challenge now of creating a new system
that follows the democratic principle of government that is for the
people by the people and of the people.
That
task should have begun with the election failures of 2010 and 2013.
We are not the first country that had had to confront the task of
making the leap of change through revolution peacefully if possible
and violently if necessary. Only then can we secure the future of our
country.
For
this we will need to move fast or events will overtake us end up with
the status quo, stuck in the oligarchic society we had tried to
reform in the first EDSA that fooled so many reformers, some of whom
gave up their lives and fortunes for the cause.
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The
military is mandated by the Constitution as protector of the state
when it is threatened either internally or externally. But it can
only act if there is a transition council under the principle that
civic authority is supreme at all times. That can happen only if
there is a civil transition council that the military can support.
Without the transition council the military has no choice but support
the existing government under the dictum of civilian supremacy.
Therefore
reform-minded Filipinos must create a transition council, empowered
to forge a new constitution, punish all government officials who were
part of the scam and preside over new elections. All stolen moneys by
politicians and officials alike should be returned to the national
treasury under pain of being charged with crimes without bail. These
moneys could instead be by the state for a new government set up by
real ballots and a true counting.
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It
is unacceptable that the very same persons who committed the Napoles
pork barrel crimes are allowed and continue to be in charge of
investigating the crimes.
Only
a transition government can work out a juridical procedure to punish
those who had shamelessly stolen the moneys intended for
infrastructure and social services.
We
must pursue this line while the issues are hot and burning and the
people have awakened with a new energy to set the country right.
If
we don’t seize the moment then we may revert to business as usual
with unscrupulous politicians feasting on public moneys with
impunity.
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The
transition council follows the practice of “provisional government”
that has been used in other parts of the world when a country is
devoid of government. The Smartmatic PCOS elections combined with the
Napoles pork barrel leaves us very little choice but confront the
fact that we do not have government – only a seizure by thugs
elected by pre-programmed machines only to steal public moneys.
Thieves
have broken down our electoral system, violated the Constitution and
are helping themselves to public moneys. If that is not an indication
that no one is charge, I wonder what else will.
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There
are provisional governments, transition councils, interim councils of
every kind and hue in most countries after a revolution peaceful or
otherwise. We had one after Cory Aquino’s EDSA but it ultimately
failed to carry out the reforms envisioned by the revolution.
This time we must proceed more carefully as we move to what can be
considered a God-given opportunity to try again.
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