The opposition

Every president wants a cooperative if not rubberstamp Congress. But every free nation should want a strong, credible opposition in place. An effective system of checks and balances is essential in a democracy.

At the dawn of the Duterte presidency, no such opposition looms on the horizon. It’s too early and this is understandable. Everyone is still trying to save his or her neck and jumping into the new ruling coalition.

The Philippine multiparty setup is amorphous. After every general election, foreign observers can only scratch their heads in wonder as members abandon their party en masse to join the only group that matters, regardless of the original size: the party of the person who won the presidency.

In this case, the party of the moment is the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP-Laban. In a dramatic promotion, the party’s Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel looks poised to become Senate president. It will be a vindication of sorts for Pimentel, whose father and namesake was cheated of a Senate seat in a rare verified case of vote padding and shaving or dagdag-bawas.

This early, however, there’s a growing buzz that the PDP-Laban is battling for influence in Rody’s Malacañang against the bigger Nacionalista Party controlled by the Villar clan, which counts among its members Duterte’s running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. The NP, as the nation has learned, helped substantially in bankrolling the Duterte campaign.

The once ruling Liberal Party is coming undone. The United Nationalist Alliance is still nursing its wounds. Although Sen. Grace Poe ran as in independent, it was no secret that the Nationalist People’s Coalition of businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. bet heavily on her and her running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero. But the NPC has since joined the new coalition, which now boasts of a “super majority” in the House of Representatives.

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Duterte will need a strong coalition to push his legislative agenda, which is ambitious, starting with the restoration of capital punishment through hanging.

Charter change is clearly on the agenda, to lift restrictive economic provisions as well as deliver on the promised shift to federalism – an intrinsic component of Duterte’s peace program. While federalism – a pet advocacy of the PDP-Laban – may be popular in Mindanao, however, it may face stiff opposition in other parts of the country. And even in Mindanao, there are people who have misgivings about empowering more independent republics in a land where local kingpins run their turfs like feudal overlords.

Even the plan to lift restrictive economic provisions isn’t going to be a breeze. Powerful lobbies are expected in any effort to open up the economy to foreigners, and most of our self-absorbed lawmakers are extremely vulnerable to well-funded arguments.

To counter such lobbies, Duterte’s team must take this issue directly to the people with the argument that it is ultimately a scheme to create employment and livelihood opportunities, ease poverty and make growth inclusive.

With such challenges, Duterte is surely gladdened by the mass exodus to the super majority in the incoming 17th Congress.

For the health of our democratic republic, however, we need a credible opposition to check the excesses of power.

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This incoming administration in particular needs strong checks against potential excesses because it seems to have an overly liberal interpretation of the extent of state (and presidential) power.

For now protests against the iron-fist approach to peace and order have been muted. But if the crackdown spirals out of control – which tends to happen when law enforcers start enjoying killing and slapping people around – Pinoy public opinion is fickle and can shift overnight.

Apart from remaining vigilant against systematic human rights violations, someone must keep close tabs on the judicial utilization of public funds. Again, self-absorbed lawmakers feeding on the administration trough will have no interest in the boring, complicated task of crunching numbers and seeing to it that people’s money is utilized properly.

It’s the president’s prerogative to reward campaign supporters with key appointments in his government. There’s no such thing as a sweetheart appointment. But someone must look out for sweetheart deals that bypass procurement laws, which are among the biggest sources of corruption.

Even President Aquino’s vaunted daang matuwid had its own sweetheart deal for LP members, wreaking havoc on services of the Metro Rail Transit.

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If power is abused and it becomes egregious, Vice President Leni Robredo could emerge as the rallying point for the original critics along with those who may one day rue their support for Dirty Rody.

Robredo’s Liberal Party, however, is crumbling, with most of the members jumping over to the new coalition. What’s left of the LP must pick a new leader.

Being the nation’s second highest official, Robredo by tradition should be the new LP head, although as a retired president, soon-to-be-Citizen Noynoy may fit the bill. It remains to be seen whether big egos in the party will give way to Robredo, their newest member, as the new leader.

Robredo may not even want to be seen at this point as an opposition leader. So far, she looks committed to being a supportive partner in the Duterte administration. Robredo seems to be keenly aware that being the constitutional successor in case the president is incapacitated, she cannot look opportunistic in exploiting any issue that might undermine public support for the chief executive.

This was the same attitude adopted by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo throughout the brief, turbulent presidency of Joseph Estrada. Erap made GMA his social welfare secretary, and she was never seen as a leader of the opposition although the president and his VP belonged to rival parties. When finally Erap fell in disgrace and the presidency was handed by the EDSA crowd to GMA in a silver platter, the vice president gave a convincing impression that she was merely performing her constitutional duty.

Noli de Castro when he was VP also refused to go along with calls for GMA to resign and take over as president at the height of scandals involving election fraud and corruption.

So the opposition may need a rallying point other than VP Leni.

For now, with realignments taking place and most everyone just wanting to join the winning team, Duterte is assured of support.