The start of moral and social decay
IN Bacolod City last week VP Binay, at 73, declared a new doctrine on constitutional law. He wants term limits on elective office lifted. “Itong term na ito ‘di talaga ako naniniwala dyan. Kailangan one to sawa yan, hangga’t gusto ng tao.” (As quoted by a major daily last Friday, July 17.) This means he is making a mockery of his oath of office “... to preserve and defend the Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.”
God help us all As VP he makes fun of his oath this early. If, by a long stretch of the imagination, the voters elevate him to Malacañang what will happen to us all if he elects to run again and again and again. The only answer: May God bless and help us all and the country.
Our Constitution is a copy of a document drafted by levelheaded and victorious American revolutionaries in 1787. It created a new state and government for the Americans. Without a fundamental law, anarchy becomes a poor substitute and without a Bill of Rights the government could become the new oppressor. To serve, not to manipulate Politicians aspire for public office to serve the people, NOT to manipulate them and get their consent to corrupt practices, like overpricing and various forms of wastage of public funds. Without a term limit, a moron and his closet advisers can steal our people blind in a matter of 5, 6 or 10 years. The Marcos years lasted from Dec. 30, 1965 to Feb. 25, 1985 ( or about 20 years, 1 month and 25 days). This period was 12 years, 1 month and 25 days beyond the constitutional limit of eight years as clearly stated in the 1935 Constitution.
Did our country become progressive with the addition of many years beyond Dec. 30, 1973, the term limit of eight years? Our economy at the end of martial law was at its lowest and poorest state possible. It took years to recover from our lowest ebb of impoverishment. Even a great President
deserves a rest Even a great leader like Franklin Delano Roosevelt was tempted to ignore the two-term limit, a tradition set by Washington who refused to run unopposed a third time in 1797. Efforts were underway to persuade him to accept a third term, but he published his eloquent Farewell Address on Sept. 19, 1796, ending talk of his candidacy and setting the important two-term precedent.
Roosevelt won four elections in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. On March 24, 1947, the US Congress proposed to limit the presidential term of office to two four-year terms under Amendment XXII which was ratified on Feb. 27, 1951. Roosevelt was president during the Great Depression and World War II and his boys thought that changing horses in mid-stream was dangerous and in these two critical periods, he was the clear winner.
Running for sainthood?
Most politicians have no desire to run for sainthood or to win a Mother Teresa award. The very word playing politics implies a more worldly life troubled by various vices. Worse, people who invest heavily in politics gain immortality by wallowing in corrupt practices to prolong his stay in high offices for his personal benefit and for the welfare of his family, friends and partisans.
Who will write the good rules?
When terms of office have no limit our people/voters lose their control over politicians. The role of voters is converted into indifference. They become fence-sitters, waiting for free cakes and free meals. They walk around without opinion or reference to moral rules. In this kind of social decay politics gains the high ground and only politicians can write the rule of what is right or wrong.
Do we want to end in this manner? (Comments are welcome at roming@pefianco.com).