Federalism and suffrage
Meaningful polls presuppose principled political parties with programs.
Presently, only the PDP-Laban and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) meet these requirements. The Liberal Party (LP) is working on it. They must succeed if they want to be a political factor in the future.
If the 25 or so wise men of the proposed Constitutional Commission opt for a presidential setup, the antagonism between the president, Congress and judiciary will further be detrimental to the people. The fate of the nation will continue to depend on the whims and nightly lonesome decisions of a single person.
A president cannot act in the name of the whole people, only the parliamentarians can. Therefor the parliament-- duly elected in popular and proportional party-based vote--shall have the ultimate power.
Democratic elections are free, equal, secret, direct and fair.
Philippine elections are not free because money and pre-filled sample ballots influence the polls of many voters. Nor are they equal because money decides who is allowed to run for president, congressional representative, senator, governor, mayor.
In a federal republic, elections are organized at the level of the states. The elected state parliamentarians deputize from their midst a number of representatives to the Federal Council (not Senate). Between 30 and 40 federal councilors will do for the Philippine Federal Council as second legislative chamber and representation of the states in the capital.
The first legislative chamber is the Federal Parliament (not House of Representatives). The 300 odd federal parliamentarians are elected as candidates of political parties.
They all must have begun as grassroots members in the barangay chapter of their party and have by and by been deputized by their partymates to the respective higher level because of their superior capabilty, eloquence, zealous work, trustworthiness etc.
Parties have important tasks (I enumerate only three among about 12):
--to promote active participation of citizens in their political lives;
--to train citizens capable of assumption of public responsibility;
--and, to use their attributed public funds exclusively for the realization of the tasks defined in their program in conformity with the Law on Parties of the Federal Constitution.
Consequently, as compensation for their important work, the parties will be allotted a share of the budget in conformity with a party financing law. Private wealth is no longer a hurdle for competent professionals to climb the echelons to public office.
Accepting private donations is prohibited.
A democratic party system is dynamic: a party that performs poorly or against the interest of the people will loose seats while a new party that is promising and appealing will get mandates in parliament.
The parliamentarians vote into office the candidate of the winning party as prime minister. The top-candidate of the coalition party (if any) will be the vice prime minister.
On election day, the voter will swipe in a reader his federal ID with a magnetic stripe or chip. If he/she is in the list of qualified voters he/she will get his/ her ballot.
There are listed the accredited political parties. Under each party are the name of the top candidate (for prime minister) and about five names of eminent party politicians. Since the voter has made up his mind long before he will enter a poll booth and make only one check mark near the party of his preference.
The 60 millions check marks will result in the distribution of seats in parliament that mirror exactly the will of the electorate.
The BEIs will count the ballots manually under the eyes of interested citizens. Cheating is impossible. Transmission will be done by computer secured by PINs as in online banking.
The federal parliamentarians will formulate a frame legislation within which the state parliamentarians can decide laws that are in keeping with the culture and particularities of their state.
It is important that the two federal legislative chambers are strong lest the nation disintegrates as feared by opponents of federalization. Sixty senators are not strong enough as custodians of the national integrity.
It is the merit of Professor Abueva and his Citizens' Movement for a Federal Philippines that they introduce in their draft constitution an article on political parties. On the other hand they failed to propose an article on suffrage.
That puzzles me because a federation has different political institutions than the present unitary-presidential system. Therefore the voting system must be different. With it stands and falls democracy.--