The 1987 Constitution Should Die Before President Duterte's Term Ends

The Duterte presidency is just the start of the new beginning. But there's one important agenda is to make sure that the defective 1987 Constitution should be gotten rid of first. Before you can expect competency to be installed you must get rid of an incompetence-based system. In other words, the 1987 Constitution has to die and be replaced by a new constitution before the term of Duterte ends. This is the importance the Three Point Agenda in killing the 1987 Constitution. 

First point: Get rid of the 60/40 in place of economic free trade with reasonable restrictions

If you want to topple down the oligarchy and bring economic progress then you must promote free trade. It's a total myth to say that protectionism is better than free trade. If that were true then those who love protectionism need to prove that North Korea is doing better than South Korea. The idea of the "pambansang industriya" can be disproved through extensive research not based on the Dilawan's version of history but on actual facts. No country ever progressed through the pambansang industriya but through foreign investments. Those who want to prove it should first test their theory on an uncharted island first with their followers.

How will free trade with reasonable restrictions help the Philippines? This means that foreign direct investors may own more than 40% and instead they can own from 50% to 100% but they must follow certain rules and regulations. These rules include paying the right taxes, treating their workers right, giving the right pay and following basic guidelines. There will be penalties set to the foreign investors ranging from simple penalties for simple offenses and the risk of deportation for big time offenses. This is to make sure that all businesses are in a healthy, competitive environment. 

The reason why people like the Monsods and the Robleses are against free trade is because they serve the oligarchs. They know that free trade works better than economic protectionism but they choose to spread the lie about it. It's all about maintaining power. Opening up the economy is very important in killing the 1987 Constitution.

Second point: Abolish Imperial Manila and replace it with a decentralized or federalized government

There are many fears of federalism. I don't know where in the world did the Monsods get that federalism is feudalism? Federalism is defined as a system of government where states and provinces share power with the national government. To say that federalism will only benefit Imperial Manila is a lie. It's the unitary system of the Philippines that built the Imperial Manila system to start with. On the other hand federalism will destroy the Imperial Manila system. Have the Tagalistas gone so stupid as to say that federalism will only benefit Imperial Manila when evidence suggests otherwise?

How will a decentralized or federal government work? It focuses on the delegation of authority between regions of the Philippines. This will decongest the Philippines as not all activities are centered in Imperial Manila. This will help speed up regional issues and development due to delegation of authority. One of the problems why so many processes in the government offices take too much time is because of the Imperial Manila System. It takes so long to get important documents like a voter's ID, driver's license or whatever because of the Imperial Manila system. I guess Tagalistas feel the rest of the Philippines outside Imperial Manila is just "captured territory" when in fact Tagalogs are not the only Filipinos. What about the rest of the Philippines?

One of the biggest reasons why the Philippines lack progress is because all decisions are embedded in Imperial Manila. Those outside of the National Capital Region have no say in solving the problems. The situation in Imperial Manila is not the same for the rest of the Philippines. Problems in Region X are not the same as Region Y. If everyone had a share in how to develop certain areas then priorities can be set straight towards fixing underdeveloped areas of the Philippines. 

Third point: Replace the defective popularity driven presidential system with the competency-based parliamentary system

Giving President Duterte more time may not be the best solution means it's time to replace the system with a competency-driven system before getting someone to succeed him. There are others who can succeed President Duterte such as Alan Peter Cayetano or Bongbong Marcos. The current problem of succession lies on the presidential system. Presidential systems are not only popularity driven but they also encourage spare tire politics. Would have former Noynoy Aquino been impeached or beheaded in Saudi Arabia between 2010 up to 2016 then Jejomar Binay would have been president. It would be a scenario where the people jump from the frying pan to the fire. That could have been prevented if there was the option of raising a snap election for a new prime minister or a vote of no confidence.

The big problem of popularity-driven systems is that it keeps putting stupid people into power. I was just reminded of how Joseph Ejercito "Erap" Estrada and later Noynoy won because of their popularity. A lot of Filipino celebrities keep entering into the political arena even if they have no knowledge whatsoever in running a country. I was reminded of how many people voted for these people only because of their popularity rather than their competency. That problem alone is why the Philippines is driven by such defective leaders in power. A competency-based system would have allowed a lot more competent people into power. For one, I think Jose De Venecia would have been a better head of state than Erap.

This also means allowing term extensions for competent officials and cutting short the term of incompetent officials. Let's say that we have an election of Alan Peter Cayetano vs. Bongbong vs. Bum Aquino vs. Grace Poe-Llamanzares for the position of prime minister. If Cayetano proves himself to be the best then he will be the new prime minister in place of Duterte. If Bongbong proves himself the best then Filipinos shouldn't mind a Marcos is back in power. This would greatly reduce Bum's chances of winning all because he's an Aquino. This would mean that competency would be the key to landing into leadership positions, extending one's term or shortening it and not based on the stupid mob rule of a popularity-based system.