Duterte’s teammates–Alvarez and Pimentel–could ruin the nation’s prospects
First word
INEVER thought I would see it, but two of our top political leaders could become the Filipino version of the tragic and maladroit soccer player who accidentally scored for the opposing side in the World Cup, and was subsequently assassinated by some of his angry countrymen.
a defensive player on Colombia’s football team in World Cup 1994.
I refer next to House Speaker - key players in Team Philippines whose foolish talk could scuttle the agenda and bright prospects of the Philippines under the Duterte administration. I’m not suggesting that they should be meted capital punishment. But they should at least be shaken from their lofty posts in Congress.
Escobar: The maladroit football player
a defender in Colombia’s soccer team at the 1994 World Cup in the ball against his own side in a match with the United States and thereby dashed his country’s fancied prospects in the World Cup.
Forty-eight hours after returning
home from Los Angeles, Escobar, 27, was shot to death outside a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia.
The unidentified gunmen confronted Escobar at about 3 a. m., and one said, “Thanks for the auto- goal.” Then, the men opened fire, shooting Escobar 12 times as the group shouted “goal” after each shot.
Escobar’s mistake is called an “auto- goal”-- knocking the ball into your own team’s net, scoring a goal for the opposing team.
Escobar tried to deal with his error by writing an open letter to his country. He implored his countrymen: “Playing in the World Cup was the most rare, phenomenal opportunity and experience I have ever had, so see you soon, because life doesn’t end here.”
Alas, it ended for him right there.
Alvarez and Pimentel: The inept politicians
I am thinking of Escobar as I behold the bizarre moves of Speaker Alvarez and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rdto 1) cancel the 2019 midterm elections and 2) extend the term of President Duterte.
Just four days into the New Year and after a year of dramatic advances and triumphant gains by the Philippine republic, Alvarez and Pimentel have found “kryptonite” to dampen the nation’s spirits.
This is worse than throwing away a soccer game. This is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
At a time when both the Liberal Party and the Communist Party are reeling from the successes of the Duterte government – and are facing the prospect of political extinction – the two leaders of the Congress are performing extreme unction on the principal enemies of the nation. They are raising the spirits of the communist insurgents and the Aquino cultists by driving a stake into the heart of national politics.
Their betrayal of national aspirations is gross and gravely harmful. Alvarez and Pimentel are top teammates of President Duterte in the ship of state and national administration.
The transgression is worse than indulging in foreign travel at government expense, which has caused the firing of so many. This is throwing away the ballgame against the opponents of government. This is working at cross-purposes with the nation, the Constitution, and our constitutional government.
I do not suggest that their punishment should be as deadly as that which befell Escobar. But they should at least be placed on notice as in danger of being toppled from their lofty posts in Congress.
A broadcaster of GMA 7 has expressed the issue well. Alvarez is not a representative of the entire country. He is only a representative of the first district of Davao del Norte. He was elevated to the House speakership because he is from Mindanao.
Pimentel was elected to the Senate in the fraud-marred elections of 2016. He does not represent a clear constituency. He was plucked from nowhere and chosen as Senate president simply because he comes from Mindanao.
The two still have not grasped the importance of their posts in the architecture of governance. They have been deceived into thinking that high office has made them more discerning than their countrymen.
Alvarez and Pimentel hurt the nation twice with their term extension and no-election scenarios.
First, their proposals are totally gratuitous and unnecessary. They serve no purpose but the revival of the opposition.
Second, they are vital actors in the execution of the administration’s legislative agenda. Yet their fanciful scenarios serve a contrarian agenda, which is to stop President Duterte and Charter change.
The two leaders of Congress are campaigning against Charter change and federalism subliminally. The no-el and term extension scenarios will subliminally sink the federalism project.
Distractions from business of government
It is maddening to realize, but it is the administration itself that uncovers its weaknesses and vulnerabilities. When President Duterte is not himself shaking things up with his careless and tough talk, his collaborators are coming up with schemes to make the going more difficult.
The Alvarez- Pimentel scenarios are distractions from the main business and energetic activity of government today – which is to pursue aggressively rapid economic reform, national stabilization, and nationwide infrastructure development.
Since Alvarez and Pimentel floated their scenarios, the media and the public can talk of nothing else but the cancellation of elections and the term extension of President Duterte.
It has not occurred to them that their schemes are contrary to clear provisions of the constitution: 1) a set date for midterm elections, and 2) a single term of six years for the president.
They also pay no heed to the fact that President Duterte rejects an extended term for himself, and wants elections to take place in 2019. (He is surely tantalized by the idea that Sen. Antonio Trillanes
These side issues obscure the accomplishments and detract from the agenda of the Duterte adminis
by these scenarios is the economy. They could discourage investments in vital projects. They could slow down the growth of manufacturing and the expansion of job opportunities. They could also enfeeble the landmark gains from the tax has already cleared Congress.
The biggest thing to worry about is that these fanciful scenarios will resuscitate the noise of the Liberal Party and communist insurgency.
- ence among our people, as they orate against election cancellation and term extension, and thence authoritarianism.
The problems of the Duterte government are in truth being supplied by personages who are members of the team.
Some should never have been designated as leading players in Team Philippines. It may be best if these characters just move over to the Liberal Party, where no one will listen to them.