Gatchalian bill to burn house down over a rat

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill seeking to do away with the substitution law except for reason of death, in which case the substitute must bear the same name as the one to be substituted. That is like burning the house down just to get rid of a rat. And I am sure his inspiration for the bill is his colleague in the Senate, Bato dela Rosa.

Admittedly the antics of Dela Rosa have rubbed many people the wrong way. When he filed a certificate of candidacy for president, he did it with as much finesse as a carabao. The guy simply has neither subtlety nor guile. While he had his name on the certificate, it was very clear he was doing it for someone else. In fact, in his own words, he was literally begging to be replaced.

Gatchalan, therefore, could not be blamed if he felt scandalized. I was too. And so were many people. But I am not about to attack the whole of China with a slingshot. As clearly offended and disappointed as Gatchalian was, it is just as obvious that he mistook one tree for the forest. It is plain that he is knee-jerking. I hope it is not political desperation that drove him up this creek without a paddle. I hear that his numbers are not exactly good.

Look, laws are not born of frivolity. That is why they are laws, because they were created, and passed, with a mind for the general good. Bad bills normally do not see the light of day as laws. They do not pass. They get killed, shelved, archived, or otherwise doomed to the trash bin. The law that allows for substitution is there for a greater purpose than the travesty by which Dela Rosa unmindfully seeks to reduce it.

In other words, Gatchalian and the similarly-minded senators who support his bill must be stopped from killing the substitution law just because they did not like the antics of Dela Rosa. Just because this substitution law pertains to politics does not mean it is something unique or unheard of. In truth, political substitution is just a form of reservation in the manner that Bato wishes to do it.

And making reservations is something that we do commonly. We reserve seats at a restaurant, or for a flight somewhere. Even the line of succession is, in some way, a cousin of the substitution law. We elected Leni Robredo vice president so we can have a president in case Rodrigo Duterte keels over. Some may see it as something separate or distinct, but filling any vice-position is actually getting a substitute on reserve.

In fact, to really understand how important substitution is, in the case of the vice president, he or she has to always be sworn into office ahead of the president just to make sure we have an official vice president ready. On the other hand, if the substitution law is used in reserve for those who might change their minds, so what? Only fools do not change their minds.

Besides, having a change of mind, or heart for that matter, is infinitely so much better than intransigence or obstinacy, especially when a clear nincompoop insists on foisting himself or herself on a people for no better reason than that he or she is in a position to do so. Let the substitution law stand as it is. To guard against chicanery, legislate safeguards, with penal clauses for abuses. Do not burn the house down only for a rat.

But there is something truly offensive that Senator Gatchalian might wish to legislate against. It is not something difficult to do. The Constitution already provides for it. All it needs is an enabling law. I am talking about political dynasties, like for example having three brothers sit as senator, congressman, and mayor all at the same time. That should scandalously be offensive to someone who scoffs and takes offense at mere substitution.