No Elections Under The Parliamentary System?

No elections under the parliamentary system? That was one of the greatest fears that got launched against the need for charter change or better yet called constitutional reform. The parliamentary system was demonized for allowing candidates to have near-unlimited terms or that a prime minister can get another term. Another fear from the shift to presidential to parliamentary is that there will be no elections. Some feared that Fidel V. Ramos would become a dictator. Later, another fear of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's desire for system change was that she would rule forever. However, that's NOT the reality as many of these fears against the parliamentary system are based on the fear of the unknown. What those fearmongering idiots don't see is that there's such a thing as PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.

The video above explains how parliamentary elections happen. What makes the parliamentary system more different than the presidential elections? It's because you vote BY PARTY and NOT BY CANDIDATE. Every person gets to vote only one party of their choice. The results of the election will determine which party sits as the Government and which party sits at the Opposition. The whole vote straight will give voters an easier time concerning which party to vote based on performance. How would you know who is the best to vote? Well, there's the weekly question hour which the local media is obliged to publish. 

How would things go if the Philippines were parliamentary and the move for constitutional reform succeeded? Let's just say that most of the votes went to both PDP-Laban and the Liberal Party (LP). People voted for the PARTY which means there are parliamentary elections. #OtsoDiretso wouldn't be needed because the members of the movement are automatically part of the Liberal Party. After the elections - let's say that PDP-Laban won the Government and LP won the Opposition seats. Meanwhile, people in some parliamentary countries get to vote the Head of State who serves a ceremonial purpose. The respective parties vote for their leaders. The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader will then have their own set of appointees and their cabinet which will correspond to each other.

The problem today in the Philippine government is that voting for several candidates like a college entrance exam is stupid. We're having elections - not an entrance exam! Besides, it's really a big problem that the vice president is from the Opposition. If Leni Loud Robredo wants to lead the Opposition then why not opt for parliamentary system so she and Rodrigo R. Duterte can debate each other weekly? Leni Loud can be the Opposition Leader but NOT the Deputy Prime Minister because she belongs to the Opposition, not the Government. Both sides will have to answer to each other. The Opposition will be heavily responsible to give useful alternatives and not just criticize the Government for its shortcomings. 

A better check and balance? #OtsoDiretso is not the answer. It's just a band-aid solution even if they won. I mean, have we even defined the roles of both sides? We haven't and the current Opposition doesn't even have its own appointees to reflect against Duterte's appointees. That's why the prime minister and deputy prime minister come from the SAME PARTY. That's why the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader come from the SAME PARTY. It's like if Duterte is the prime minister then Alan peter S. Cayetano as his deputy. It's like if Noynoy Aquino is the opposition leader then Leni Loud as his deputy. It's because Duterte and Cayetano are from PDP-Laban while Noynoy and Leni Loud are from LP. They got into their places based on the vote for one party only election.

This should at least help clarify that there are indeed ELECTIONS under the parliamentary system!