For thinking citizens, it is obvious that no matter how much we want change we will not be able to do it without strong rule. The traditional politicians, the oligarchy and the system they protect will not allow change. As far as they are concerned they will fight tooth and nail to retain the status quo which gives them their wealth and privileges.
How far their resistance will go will depend on how seriously President Duterte and reformists are prepared to meet the challenge. With each day we move closer to collision. A choice will have to be made soon on whether we keep the status quo or take the steps necessary to achieve wide ranging constitutional change to change to parliamentary federalism. We elected Duterte as President leader to get it done.
Given the entrenched positions of officials of the Aquino administration, it will be impossible to do so unless President Duterte assumes the extraordinary powers he needs. In a discussion with friends, we concluded that the most serious stumbling block for the mayor is Congress and their subalterns in bureaucracy.
In the discussion we used terms like revolutionary government, martial law or government with revolutionary powers. Personally I think it is wise not to do so. We should avoid the ‘revolutionary’ lexicon. It fits more if the situation was a divided citizenry. With Duterte’s overwhelming mandate for change through a new constitution, it is more accurate to equip him with the powers to get it done.
But with the Opposition led by the Liberals standing in the way of the people’s mandate then he must assume strong rule, including removing Congress.
The present Congress no longer represents the people, they are there for themselves to continue acquiring wealth through corruption under the guise of creating laws. What stands in the way is Congress and the decadent presidential unitary system.
The election of officials is said to be funded by drug lords. That is why Duterte has given his war against drug lords priority. That would remove the funding of elections with money from drug lords. The two work in tandem: we remove the power of drug lords to fund politicians and excise politicians in Congress at the same time. It is a dangerous combination and needs a strong hand to break up.
It is commonly assumed that only revolution can remove Congress. Erdogan of Turkey showed the world that he could assume strong rule through a referendum. But Duterte has his reasons for not taking that route. Our electoral system has been mucked up by the Smartmatic-PCOS automatic election. Unless we also remove the Commission on Elections, we cannot have a genuine referendum.
Duterte can achieve his mandate with speed with the military supporting him.
I suppose that it why we are resorting to crowdsourcing and its capacity to gather as big a crowd as possible. That we already did on May 7, 2016 just days before the election that made Duterte president with a margin never achieved by any presidential candidate before him.
This is where military help is needed and the 1987 Constitution empowers him to do so.
The 1987 Constitution states in Article II of the principles and state policies in Section 3 that
“Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.”
The martial law declared in Mindanao follows that principle. Although the military is being called upon as protector of the people it remains subservient to civil authority. Martial law does not necessarily mean military rule because it is being called upon only to help quell the violence that took thousands of lives and mayhem destroying homes and buildings. Essentially it is not military rule even if it is invoked to bring peace and order in Marawi.
The people of Marawi are being crushed in the conflict between government forces and the Maute group who is said to be in alliance with ISIS, the worldwide network of Muslims to establish a caliphate in the region.
Martial law is different from military rule. The nuances is in how it is implemented. We must seek peaceful solutions. The trouble is we have taken time in implementing federalism. I am sure there will be groaning if federalism is even suggested at this point.
But the key to a return to the peaceful resolution of the Mindanao problem is to strengthen the moderate Muslim groups after the Mautes in cooperation with ISIS are kicked out of Marawi.
I regret that I was unable to attend the “Islam and Democracy Forum on Autonomy and Federalism.” This group and other similar groups advocating peaceful solutions to the violence in Mindanao should be supported and publicized both in mainstream media and social media.
Once again we may miss the opportunity to use Duterte’s endorsement of the shift if we focus on war and violence. Although needed for the moment, it should not be the center of our preoccupation for peaceful solutions.
The invitation says that former prime minister Cesar E. A. Virata, and the “Father of the Federalism Movement,” former senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel led the discussions. We should have more of these instead of quibbling on whether the President is justified in declaring martial law in Mindanao.
Former P.M. Virata’s experience as the first and only prime minister of the Philippines, and senator Pimentel’s authorship of the act creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and more than 50 years of advocating federalism make the two leaders qualified for the campaign. It should answer critics who say it is not applicable to the Philippines.
The Islam and Democracy Forum is a series of dialogues among scholars and stakeholders interested in understanding and resolving critical issues related to democracy, participation, and development in Muslim communities. This lecture series affords stakeholders from the Muslim Mindanao the opportunity to engage representatives of the public and private sector, as well as multilateral agencies and international organizations in discourse on key issues that impact democratic political thought.
Thanks Amina Rasul for the invitation. Rasul is the president of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy. Here are her contact numbers, address and email. Tel. nos: 4265886 | 4269972; email address is pcid.mainsecretariat@gmail.com
Address: NCPAG Annex Building | Raul P. De Guzman St. | University of the Philippines | Diliman, Quezon City.
The group is a good antidote to the growing frustration of both Christians and Muslims caught in the crossfire of combatants not of their making.