Florin Hilbay Better See Constitutional Reform Is Badly Needed To SOLVE The Pandemic

Again, the problem with the Opposition is NOT that they criticize President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Every healthy democracy has the majority and minority listened to. Democracy is after all the rule OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people in which majorities and minorities are included. Now, it's time to consider that Florin Hilbay is RIGHT to address the first four problems. However, in his fifth problem, he only got ONE HALF of it right. Is he really that against constitutional reform and doesn't see how it works?

This is what Florin Hilbay needs to understand. A shame really he was that board topnotcher and once a shining model for the poor. Unfortunately, what he's failing to see is how he doesn't see that constitutional reform is BADLY NEEDED to cope up with the first four problems he just addressed.

Does Hilbay realize that the highest number of active COVID-19 cases is a two-way street? True, he's right to call the pasaways in the government but what about people who don't follow simple instructions? It's already worth asking citizens on how can they expect quarantine to work if they don't follow simple guidelines. What he also needs to see is the very work of Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chien-Jen (a leading epidemiologist) who mentions that social distancing together with good behavior is more effective than mass testing. It would be nice if Hilbay actually stated that the government should follow Chen's example. Maybe, Vice President Leni Loud Robredo herself should actually bring that up too.

The other valid worries Hilbay has is about the state of the economy. It's only normal that a pandemic brings in a bad economy, joblessness, and piling debts. However, does he realize that there's the need to reform economic restrictions regarding economic protectionism? If he's against foreign direct investment (FDI) then he's contributing to the problem. When's the best time to remove restrictions? Only when the pandemic is over? the big question is if he's against FDI and other economic reforms then how can he expect to fix the economic problems such as joblessness and piling debts? FDIs even WITHOUT a Filipino partner will have to pay taxes and follow the rules such as giving jobs to the host country first. If they don't pay taxes then appropriate legal action is taken. If they pay taxes then they can continue to invest.

I wonder if Hilbay realizes his current powerlessness is a result of the presidential system. A parliamentary system would be having him and the Liberal Party as the Opposition. Maybe, we could have had either Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas, or Leni Loud Robredo as the Opposition Leader. The parliamentary system will have his side (the Opposition) keep the government on its toes. If Hilbay wants to keep the government on its toes then he should support the parliamentary system.