The
majority Congressmen are doing all that could be done to make President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo stay in power, says the opposition. The method is to effect a
Charter Change via the Constituent Assembly or Con Ass. The object is; when the
Con Ass is convened, the presidential unitary form of government will be replaced
by a parliamentary one. Meanwhile, a transition period will be observed to allow
a smooth change from one system of government to another. The transition period
would be supervised by a caretaker government headed by no less than PGMA
That
is if the administration congressmen can convene the Con ass during the State
of the Nation Address. The senators may not cooperate so the congressmen will
raise the issue to the Supreme Court hoping for a favorable ruling. Should the
issue be raised to the Supreme Court, fur and feathers will fly, there will be
a legal battle between constitutionalists of both sides.
Assuming
that the preponderance of influence and logistics give the edge to the administration
cohorts on condition that a transition government will be headed by a neutral
party, and then there will be a scramble for parliamentary seats in every congressional
district. This is because, to be a Prime Minister, he has to be a Member of Parliament
or MP first before he could be chosen as Prime Minister by two thirds vote. Thus
PGMA in order to become a Prime Minister, PGMA must win a parliamentary seat,
she must run as an MP and that will be in a district where Lubao, Pampanga belongs.
Why
must PGMA hold on to power even after her term of office expires? There are those
who are of the opinion that when she steps down from the presidency, she is no
longer immune from lawsuits. The ZTE scandal, fertilizer scam and this time the
text book and food scandals in the Department of Education Culture and Sports
may be thrown against her. She may have nothing to do with those but to opponent
will insist on the doctrine of command responsibility. Thus she has to be in power
until she is sure her successor would not do something against her.
If
the Con Ass wins and the parliamentary government is installed, winning an MP
seat in Pampanga may not be an easy task. University of the Philippines Professor
Randy David is going to run against PGMA. The move may be quixotic on the part
of Prof David. The Macapagals could be unbeatable in Pampanga that is if there
is no notable opposition. Prof David could be a formidable opponent.
Granted
that there may be only ten percent intellectuals in the voters of the contested
district, they could not be all for Prof David. However, the campaign will rest
on issues this time and not on personalities. As far as issues are concerned,
Prof David will win the contest handily. Since PGMA is faced with an opponent
of note, people will be watching how her cohorts will conduct their campaign.
On
the David - Gloria contest, the whole nation or maybe the whole world may be watching.
David is no Fernando Poe Jr. He is a UP professor and a respected columnist of
a national broadsheet. Any trick done to him dirty or otherwise will be exposed.
In a parliamentary government, any MP or Prime Minister tainted with scandal has
a danger of losing his seat in the government. | 
