Vico Sotto Needs to Support Constitutional Reform Now

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Let me be honest that his post isn't to bring down Mayor Vico Sotto. Instead, this is constructive advice for him and many others. Many of the words he said make sense but they can still be improved. As I was reading through ABS-CBN News. 

Analyzing Mayor Sotto's statements and where they make sense

Here's an excerpt of Mayor Sotto's words, which we should all take into context with translations in parentheses for non-Tagalog speakers:

“You know many times as a government official, who has been trying his best to fight against the old norms, yung mga lumang kalakaran (fighting the old ways),” Sotto said. 

“As someone who has been trying to fight for positive reforms and changes in our government, I have to admit to you that many times, I feel frustrated almost every day… I feel a lack of hope. Parang ang hirap namang sabihin hopeless (as if it's difficult to sy that it's hopeless), but standing here… looking at your glowing faces, looking at the Class of 2026… I feel hopeful again. I feel a resurgence of hope in my heart.”

Sotto said he has seen many young Filipinos actively speaking out against corruption instead of remaining indifferent.

“I’ve seen some of your angry posts on social media. I’ve heard that many of you have attempted anti-corruption rallies, and part of the reason why I’m hopeful for our country… is that I know that you care and that you are not apathetic,” he said.

The mayor acknowledged that reforming government is far more complicated than it appears, citing recurring corruption controversies.

“We see things like the flood control scandal… 10 to 15 years ago, hindi ba’t parang ’yun din naman ang nangyari noong Napoles scam (10-15 years ago, it was as if the Napoles Scam never happened)? PDAF scam. Ano bang nangyari noon (What has happened before)? Opo may nakulong, pero lahat ba nakulong? (Some people went to jail, but did all go to jail?)” 

“Tingnan natin yung mga nangyayari ngayon, parang umuulit lang pero parang mas malaki pa ang mga halaga… (Let's see what happened before; there are some repetitions, but the value is bigger) Sa isanglibong sangkot (To thousands who were involved)… ilan pa ho kaya ang mapapanagot (How many more will be held accountable)? Baka masaya na tayo kung may limampung mapakulong at mapanagot doon sa libong involved (Maybe, we are happy if there are 5,000 who will go to jail and be held accountable to the thousands involved).” 

Now, going down further, I still think about adding the missing element:

He warned that lawyers and professionals may one day face pressure to participate in bribery, falsify records, manipulate financial reports, or contribute to misinformation. 

“Wherever life takes you, you will eventually be pressured by others, or tempted by circumstances, into crossing ethical boundaries, compromising your principles and breaking your integrity.”

...

Sotto stressed that systemic corruption begins with small compromises that gradually become institutionalized. 

According to the Insurers for Good Governance's post, this is something about Mayor Sotto at this moment:

Mayor Vico Sotto asserts that the true measure of reform is not whether it survives under a popular leader, but whether it endures after that leader leaves office. For him, effective governance is defined by strong institutions and lasting systems - not by the permanence of power or the appeal of personalities. 

Vico has some points. However, it becomes a real problem when people actually cross the line that Vico drew.  Vico already warned against popularity-driven sentiment and that reform should last even when the leader leaves office. These aren't wrong on their own.

It's not enough to survive the system, fight to replace it!

After some time, I thought that these ten preparations were good. However, they can be made better. What still disappoints me is that whenever someone who fights for a better system hasn't mentioned an overall system change. It's never enough to avoid being eaten by the system. You have to change the system. A person who grew up in the squatter's area and survived it should never be content about that survival. 

It's easy to say that what's more important is the brain and the heart. That's just half the truth. Right now, Mayor Sotto needs to be careful that he doesn't fall into compromise because even the best people fall down. I wrote a post where I addressed the broken windows theory and the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. What I wanted to emphasize is that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines may have rules against corruption. There's nothing in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines that says, "Politicians, steal public funds!" or "Judge, be biased against the accused instead of finding out if they did the crime!"However, the reality is that the 1987 Constitution still has weaknesses that need to be resolved. In fact, even the late Maria Corazon S. Cojuangco-Aquino never meant that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines should be set in stone. 

Right now, I want to think that Mayor Sotto has potential. However, if he wants those habits he said to be institutionalized, we should go for the parliamentary system. In fact, even longtime Kakampink commentator Gerry Cacanindin, has slowly seen the need to move to the parliamentary system. Gerry has been a long blatant supporter of the Liberal Party. However, Gerry had a point that a Vote of No Confidence would've removed Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio faster than an impeachment trial. 

For further talk, even a longtime supporter of Mayor Maria Leonor "Leni" S. Gerona-Robredo, Andrew James Masigan said this on Business World:

 FEDERAL-PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

As mentioned earlier, the Duterte administration plans to a shift our form of government from a Unitary-Presidential form to a Federal-Parliamentary form. To better appreciate how a Federal-Parliamentary system works, it s best to look at it in contrast to a Federal-Presidential system.

A Federal-Presidential system offers no change to the current system where the President is elected through a national election and heads the executive branch. He has no sway on the judicial or legislative branches except through party-line influence. The United States operates under a Federal-Presidential framework.

A Federal-Parliamentary system , on the other hand, encourages people to vote according to political parties. Here, the citizens elect their Members of Parliament (their representatives), most often, based on the ideology of the party they belong to, not on their personalities. The party with the most number of elected representatives is declared “the parliament.” The parliament elects its Prime Minister (PM) from among themselves. The PM, in turn, selects the members of his Cabinet (his ministers) from among the member of the parliament.

There are multiple advantages to this. First, the system does away with expensive and divisive presidential elections. It puts an end to the vicious cycle of presidential candidates resorting to corruption and incurring political debts just to raise funds for their campaign.

Even the poor can run for office so long as they are capable. This is because elections are funded by the party. In a federal-parliamentary system, we do away with people who win on the back of guns goons and gold.

Moreover, since the members of parliament selects the Prime Minister, they can easily remove him through a vote of no-confidence should he fail to fulfill his mandate. We do away with the tedious process of impeachment. And since the ministers are selected from the Parliament, no one gets a free ticket to the Cabinet just because they are friends with the President or nominated by a political ally. The ministers all have mandates and are accountable not only to the PM but to their constituents.

The parliament is a unicameral legislative body. Thus, bills can be made into law faster and cheaper.

A parliamentary system is one where a “shadow Cabinet” exists. A shadow Cabinet is the corresponding, non-official Cabinet composed of members of the opposition. Each Cabinet minister has a shadow equivalent who is mandated to scrutinize every policy done by the official minister. The shadow minister may offer alternative policies which can be adopted if it is deemed superior.

In the end, the systems allows policies to be better thought out with appropriate safeguards to protect the interest of the people.

Among the seven wealthiest democracies (the G7 nations), only US and France follow a presidential system. the rest subscribe to a parliamentary system.

The intentions of charter change is good. Done right, it could be a game changer for the nation.

Hopefully, Mayor Sotto will be able to read this one. This would be a good exchange of thoughts in a democratic setting!  

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