Here and There
Let’s hear JDV once again
By Gerry Garcia
TRADITIONAL politics, as especially played out in our Third World Republic, has been singled out by most political analysts to be behind our dismal failure to catch up with our regional neighbors some of whom were at par with, or even below, us in the early 60s, like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. This is a reflection of the sentiments of the education middle class today.
Our traditional politicians or trapos who are in power today are so . . . because they belong to the economic elite. The few families who are filthy rich naturally get to have political power because they have the means by which a costly election campaign could only be waged — money and power.
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The fundamental problem that has hounded the country for the last ten decades since the dictatorial Marcos Law down to the present is the failure to implement structural reforms in government, i.e., which necessarily entails reforms not overhaul of the Constitution.
The key amendments to the Charter are, according to our fellow-Dagupeño, Speaker JDV, the main and original advocate of Cha-Cha, two-fold with far-reaching consequences. One is the shift from the bicameral presidential system — which has failed the national’s hopes — to the parliamentary unicameral system; the other is the lifting of economic restrictions in order to attract direct foreign investments into the country.
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For those who can’t comprehend the technical gobbledygook relating to the significance of Charter Change, JDV says the lifting of economic restrictions is an open-door policy that, applied elsewhere in Asia, resulted in China’s rise as an economic powerhouse and the rapid development of Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.
We know Joe was not talking enough through his hat because he was personally in these countries, himself, rubbing elbows with their leaders and exchanging views.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/here-and-there/)
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