Democratic substitution
Democratic substitution
Updated 00:32am (Mla time) Jan 14, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the January 14, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN ASKING the Presidential Electoral Tribunal that she be allowed to substitute for her deceased husband Fernando Poe Jr. in his election protest against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Susan Roces shows her faith in the democratic process. Whatever the political implications of her decision to prosecute her husband's protest, she shows her faith in our democracy, a democracy that she thinks has been violated last May 10.
There may be legal questions about whether a case can be pursued even after the plaintiff has died. But this is the duty of the lawyers of President Arroyo to argue. They are expected to ask the tribunal to deny the petition. In bidding her lawyers to do so, the President is merely performing her role in the democratic process. She, too, is expected to give credence to the process. And to her credit, she has not reacted hysterically to Roces' petition, just as she did not immaturely respond last year to the opposition's bid to question the results of the election through the tribunal.
Despite her outburst on national television during Poe's wake last month, Roces has demonstrated considerable grace. She has refused to allow her husband's untimely death to be used as a political tool to harass the administration, however strong the temptation to do that, considering that her husband's iconic stature -- and her own influential figure -- could sway legions. She might have berated ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. for allegedly conducting a one-sided coverage of the election that supposedly cast her husband's campaign in a negative light, but she was sport enough to accept the apologies of Karen Davila, if indeed the news anchor had the authority to apologize on behalf of the network.
There may or may not be truth to the charge that Poe was robbed of victory, and that is why it is best that the conduct of the elections be subjected to inquiry by the tribunal. What is at stake is nothing less than the relevance and authenticity of our democracy.
This is not to say that Ms Arroyo prostituted our democracy and cheated Poe of his victory. For all intents and purposes, the opposition might have cheated, too, since despite the administration behemoth, the opposition was also well funded and had widespread support in the grass roots, particularly among local political bosses. Many of these bosses, like Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and the Marcoses of Ilocos, are well entrenched and represent the worst of dynastic politics in the Philippines.
What we are saying is that the protest case may yet yield the truth and expose the canker in our democracy. At the very least, it may confirm widespread belief about the incompetence of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in managing the electoral process. It is not the President who's cast under the glare of the spotlight in this protest; it's the Comelec.
It was the Comelec that failed to computerize the election because of partisan politicking of the commissioners, notably Luzviminda Tancangco. And even when it had purchased the technology to computerize the election, the Comelec was humiliated when the Supreme Court declared the contract null and void because of irregularities in the bidding.
The failure of the Comelec last May to stop the illegal posting of campaign bills, make transparent election spending by the candidates, stem electioneering and stop violence in election hotspots should have been a prelude to the lamentable manner it handled May 10 and afterwards. That Poe and the opposition questioned the result of the election was a slap in the face of the Comelec.
To be sure, the protest is also a slap in the face of our democracy. For far too long now, our election has been in the thrall of petty political bosses and of political dynasties that have made elective seats a family fiefdom, and of voters who will give their vote to the highest bidder. It is in the thrall of pre-modern attitudes that wouldn't want to modernize the election system and would seek to keep it in the primitive manual stage because it makes it easy to buy, bribe and cheat one's way to "victory." It is not farfetched to say the worst features of our democracy as experienced during elections can be seen both in the sitting power and the challenger. The failure of our democracy is a failure of both the administration and the opposition.
Updated 00:32am (Mla time) Jan 14, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the January 14, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN ASKING the Presidential Electoral Tribunal that she be allowed to substitute for her deceased husband Fernando Poe Jr. in his election protest against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Susan Roces shows her faith in the democratic process. Whatever the political implications of her decision to prosecute her husband's protest, she shows her faith in our democracy, a democracy that she thinks has been violated last May 10.
There may be legal questions about whether a case can be pursued even after the plaintiff has died. But this is the duty of the lawyers of President Arroyo to argue. They are expected to ask the tribunal to deny the petition. In bidding her lawyers to do so, the President is merely performing her role in the democratic process. She, too, is expected to give credence to the process. And to her credit, she has not reacted hysterically to Roces' petition, just as she did not immaturely respond last year to the opposition's bid to question the results of the election through the tribunal.
Despite her outburst on national television during Poe's wake last month, Roces has demonstrated considerable grace. She has refused to allow her husband's untimely death to be used as a political tool to harass the administration, however strong the temptation to do that, considering that her husband's iconic stature -- and her own influential figure -- could sway legions. She might have berated ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. for allegedly conducting a one-sided coverage of the election that supposedly cast her husband's campaign in a negative light, but she was sport enough to accept the apologies of Karen Davila, if indeed the news anchor had the authority to apologize on behalf of the network.
There may or may not be truth to the charge that Poe was robbed of victory, and that is why it is best that the conduct of the elections be subjected to inquiry by the tribunal. What is at stake is nothing less than the relevance and authenticity of our democracy.
This is not to say that Ms Arroyo prostituted our democracy and cheated Poe of his victory. For all intents and purposes, the opposition might have cheated, too, since despite the administration behemoth, the opposition was also well funded and had widespread support in the grass roots, particularly among local political bosses. Many of these bosses, like Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and the Marcoses of Ilocos, are well entrenched and represent the worst of dynastic politics in the Philippines.
What we are saying is that the protest case may yet yield the truth and expose the canker in our democracy. At the very least, it may confirm widespread belief about the incompetence of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in managing the electoral process. It is not the President who's cast under the glare of the spotlight in this protest; it's the Comelec.
It was the Comelec that failed to computerize the election because of partisan politicking of the commissioners, notably Luzviminda Tancangco. And even when it had purchased the technology to computerize the election, the Comelec was humiliated when the Supreme Court declared the contract null and void because of irregularities in the bidding.
The failure of the Comelec last May to stop the illegal posting of campaign bills, make transparent election spending by the candidates, stem electioneering and stop violence in election hotspots should have been a prelude to the lamentable manner it handled May 10 and afterwards. That Poe and the opposition questioned the result of the election was a slap in the face of the Comelec.
To be sure, the protest is also a slap in the face of our democracy. For far too long now, our election has been in the thrall of petty political bosses and of political dynasties that have made elective seats a family fiefdom, and of voters who will give their vote to the highest bidder. It is in the thrall of pre-modern attitudes that wouldn't want to modernize the election system and would seek to keep it in the primitive manual stage because it makes it easy to buy, bribe and cheat one's way to "victory." It is not farfetched to say the worst features of our democracy as experienced during elections can be seen both in the sitting power and the challenger. The failure of our democracy is a failure of both the administration and the opposition.
posted by Dante at 1:48 PM
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