Many Filipinos Have No Sense of Shame Because The System ENCOURAGES It

I remembered the time I wrote about the problem of Filipinos who have very thick faces and very thin skins. The symptoms of the case can be seen with Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni Loud" G. Robredo and Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV. Both Leni Loud and Trillanes show signs that they have no sense of shame. For one, Leni Loud refused to resign from the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) so she got FIRED for her bad performance. Leni Loud could've saved herself the shame if she resigned and admitted that she wasn't cut out. Another is Trillanes who shamelessly makes false accusations against people with very little to no proof, walks out of the Senate when it's convenient, and not to mention he still hasn't answered the questions that Juan Ponce-Enrile raised against him regarding his trips to China. Trillanes' trips to China might be linked to illegal drugs shipment from Chinese triads though it's just a hunch. Others say that Trillanes may have sold Spratlys Islands to China which again is there any proof for that?

I'm amazed Get Real Philippines' writers Benign0 and Ilda are in Australia yet they don't see that it's the SYSTEM that makes their new home better. Also, Ilda wrote an article called "Filipinos need to develop a sense of shame or guilt" in which she praises Japan and condemns the Philippines. What Ilda fails to see is that the system develops culture. Do both Benign0 and Ilda think culture is static? I mean, China was once a cesspool thanks to the Mao Zedong years. Singapore was once a cesspool until the late Lee Kuan Yew took over. China became a progressive communist country because of Deng Xiaoping's economic and political reforms. It's not just Lee's iron hand but also the system that guided Singaporeans to become better. We can thin that the system is what made China and Singapore better than the Philippines. Unfortunately, Benign0 is probably still as clueless as Benigno in so many issues. Worse, Benign0  just didn't see that the rise of Singapore was more than Lee's iron hand - it was also the use of free markets and the parliamentary system. If Ilda does further research - she will see that the parliamentary system is that gave Japan its high sense of honor and shame. Does she think Japanese were always with honor and shame because of the samurai hara-kiri? No, the samurai ages are dead and we have a parliamentary modern Japan where the Chrysanthemum Throne is but symbolic.

How does a parliamentary system work better in giving a sense of shame? Some presidential countries with parliamentary features are actually getting into that like South Korea and Taiwan. However, I'd want to go full parliamentary with a presidential figurehead like Singapore since Malaysia has a monarchy. What features do the Westminster parliamentary have that the Philippine presidential doesn't have? It's the fact that there's a formalized Government and a formalized Opposition. The recent problem today is that Leni Loud holds both offices - she becomes both vice president and opposition leader at the same time. In the parliamentary, Leni Loud can't be both deputy prime minister and opposition leader at the same time. Leni Loud would have to settle for a position in the opposition if the Liberal Party of the Philippines belongs to the minority floor. The parliamentary system will not only formalize both sides but also LIVE weekly questioning between both sides will get the best and the worst out of people. A vote of no confidence hangs in everybody's neck when they fail to gain the confidence of the Parliament. Unfortunately, the presidential system only impeaches officials only when they've committed something scandalous instead of impeaching them when they show signs of not being able to lead.

Now, let's put the new situation where #LetLeniLead becomes the new situation. I'd tag #LeniIsMyPM over #LeniIsMyPresident. Now, let's consider her role as Prime Minister Maria Leonor G. Robredo. That is assuming the Liberal Party will win the majority seats after the parliament is first established. However, the PDP-Laban Party will become the Opposition. So, the roles of Duterte and Leni Loud are reversed. Duterte becomes the Opposition Leader and Leni Loud becomes the Prime Minister. How would this change politics? The use of weekly questioning with both the Government and the Opposition will have both majority and minority heard. Real democracy is a government of the PEOPLE, by the people and OF the people - NOT a government of the majority, by the majority, and for the majority. In the case of parliamentary, it's a system that's for the people, by the people, and of the people, whether they are in the majority or minority. Yes, the majority still wins but it doesn't mean winners take all. 

The situation changes with this one. Leni Loud and Duterte are responsible for leading their respective parties. Leni Loud must lead the Liberal Party in their Daang Matuwid slogan to make sure it's fulfilled. Duterte must head the PDP-Laban's "Change Has Come" slogan and make sure the changes are for the better. Weekly questioning will require Leni Loud to show she's capable to run the Philippines as its prime minister. Duterte as the leader of the opposition must show he's capable of making sure that the government will do its job and give alternatives. Both parties are always on their toes with weekly questioning instead of the once-a-year SONA. There's also the threat of a vote of no confidence hanging in everybody's necks to make sure that they either do their job or they're out. This would probably change the way Leni Loud does her job. I think both leaders' decline is thanks to the presidential system. Both leaders would have been pressured to do their jobs better if there was weekly questioning. Just think college professors do a weekly inspection of the progress of one's research paper or risk getting dropped in the middle of the semester. I remembered how terrifying college and graduate school was because of weekly appointments with the professors when it comes to the thesis. However, those terrifying moments were also the best because they showed the professors did care about quality.  

The best time for real change is now. Don't wait until 2022 as Pignoy Ako Blog wants to suggest. Instead, go for change now. We can't wait until 2022. Filipinos need that change now because COVID-19 is certainly showing that the 1987 Constitution is NOT the best in the world.