The resignation of the Japanese Prime Minister

For our special presentation on our talk show “Straight from the Sky” allow me to again present to you Land Transportation Office (LTO)-7 Regional Director Victor Caindec. Actually this is the third time I have had him on this show. The last time was June 2019, so it has been more than a year already, plus the fact that we really need to evaluate the happenings at LTO during the pandemic.

Allow me to say this about Caindec who was appointed to the LTO-7 by the president. The LTO is an agency I am close to because when I was chairman of the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management (CITOM) from 2000 to 2005, the LTO was next door to my office and the officers of LTO were also members of CITOM whom we met weekly.

Since 2018, Caindec has transformed LTO into a true service-oriented government agency. It now has a huge facility in SM Seaside City and Galleria Shopping Mall, aside from its present facilities. It now has offices in Bantayan Island, Camotes, and Bohol. Also the LTO office in Carcar is probably the biggest LTO office in the island. Now LTO has a drive-through vehicle registration renewal, the first in the Visayas. They also opened a Driver’s Education Center in Cebu, something we’ve always needed because it is easy for drivers to manipulate a car or motorcycle, but they don’t know traffic laws and regulations.

So watch this show on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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One big breaking news over the weekend was the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, considered the longest-serving Japanese prime minister in history. Abe cited health as the reason for his resignation. In a press conference in Tokyo last Friday Abe said, "Even though there is one year to go in my tenure and there are challenges to be met, I have decided to stand down as prime minister." Abe apologized to the Japanese people for being unable to fulfill his duties during the pandemic.

Abe suffers from colitis, a non-curable inflammatory bowel disease, which was also a factor in his sudden resignation as prime minister in 2007, ending his first term after just over a year in office. On Monday morning, Abe visited Keio University Hospital in Tokyo for the second time in a week. Abe leaves the LDP Party in control of both houses of parliament, with a large majority in the lower House of Representatives.

Japan is not a presidential system, instead the country's leader is chosen by parliamentarians, so the next LDP leader, whoever that is, should have an easy path to becoming prime minister. Abe said he will remain in office until a successor is chosen within the members of parliament.

Meanwhile, here at home, President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday lamented the decision of Abe to resign, praying for his speedy and full recovery. "It is with much regret that I learned of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's resignation. Through many years of our engagement, I have seen a leader with a bold vision and firm determination to do what was best for his country and our region,” Duterte said.

Remember that just a week ago, the president’s doctor advised him to stop drinking as he was nearing a stage one cancer. We should learn lessons on this resignation that a presidential system is no longer good for the nation, so we need to shift to a parliamentary form of government.

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Today is the end of August and everyone is wondering about our quarantine fate with so many people asking whether or not we would stay under our present General Community Quarantine (GCQ) or shift into a Modified General Community Quarantine. While many people are eager to push for looser quarantine restrictions, we cannot help but think that a little more time under GCQ may actually be better for Cebu City.

We know enough that so many people are looking to go back to work again. However, we must ensure our people that in 15 days we will not be returned to our previous status simply because COVID-19 is still very much around. So let’s be extra careful at this time!