Viewpoints
Senate of the Philippines
By +Oscar V. Cruz D. D.
No to ChaCha. Not now under this present administration. Not through the government initiative or the Con-Ass. The best argument to this socio-ethical stand taken by the CBCP is now clear and concrete: the present senate is elected by the Filipino people.
In the country as of now, the Philippine Senate is still a clearly independent political body as a whole. It remains as an institution that acts as a real check and balance factor vis-à-vis the present administration. For the rightful exercise of its legislative function, it is taking the moral high ground in the matter of ferreting out the truth behind devious executive acts of the present administration right after its installation into power.
Needless to say, there is the continuing resolve and effort of Malacañang to extend its governing power more and more. The over-all intention behind such consistent move is to make it hopefully immune from legitimate inquiry. This is precisely the reason why it has gradually acquired the mentation that it is above the law of man and over the law of God.
Without the present Philippine Senate, the general public would have been still kept in the dark about so many gross and scandalous grafts, corruption and other odious misdeeds ultimately appended to the national leadership. This is precisely why the senate is the prime object of wrath of the administration to the extent that this wants it erased from the face of the earth—through its official moves for a unicameral form of government.
Among other revealing inquiries undertaken by the senate, there was the role of Jueteng Payola, the distribution of Philippine Health Cards and the use of fertilizer fund–all in conjunction with the 2004 National Elections. Recently there was the cheating in the nursing examinations. Now, the PCGG is the object of its inquiry.
The present Philippine Senate is the empirical rationale why it becomes more convincing that the Charter Change should be done through a Constitutional Convention and after the reign of the present administration with its enchanted claims and enchanting options.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
