It's not wrong for Senator Richard Gordon to scrutinize President Rodrigo R. Duterte. In fact, it's badly needed because there could be irregularities with Duterte's deal with Pharmally. However, I would like to address how the current Duterte vs. Gordon probe seems to be going nowhere. Why is it that the probe only happened when 2022 is fast approaching and not WEEKLY? This really shows the weakness of the presidential system - how often are presidents held accountable? When the late Noynoy Aquino was president - when was he held accountable during his SONAs? When Duterte is currently the president - when was he ever held accountable during his SONAs? The answer is neither and there's no direct accountability. Now, Gordon as a member of the INFORMAL opposition (and I think I'd really think he has what it takes to be the Opposition Leader) got some applause from the others. However, does Gordon even have his own set of appointees to mirror Duterte's appointees? In fact, Michael Aguinaldo is a Liberal Party stalwart and should be considered in the opposition. Vice President Leni Loud Robredo is now trying to drive two cars at once - the Vice President mobile and the Opposition Leader mobile.
However, a parliamentary system would actually formalize the roles of both Duterte and Gordon. Let's say that 1Sambayan is formed and Gordon becomes its Opposition Leader. That means Leni Loud must step down as vice president to presumably become the Deputy Opposition Leader of 1Sambayan. Now, let's imagine Duterte is now Prime Minister Rodrigo R. Duterte. Let's imagine Gordon as Opposition Leader Richard Gordon. Both Duterte and Gordon have their own set of appointees. Both Duterte and Gordon are now subjected to the WEEKLY QUESTION HOUR. Duterte and Gordon must now DUKE IT OUT towards each other.
Let's say that Duterte has Minister of Health Francisco Duque and he has his own Minister of Audit (take your pick). Now, Aguinaldo becomes the Shadow Minister of Audit. What Aguinaldo is doing now is more fit for the Shadow Minister of Audit than the actual Minister of Audit. Aguinaldo's job would be to audit the Government as the Shadow Minister of Audit and to check the actual Minister of Audit. Gordon now leads his Opposition and he has Dr. Willie Ong as his Shadow Minister of Health. Ong prepares to face Duque and Duterte over their plans. For example, Duterte decides to go with Pharmally but Gordon has a Taiwanese firm he believes will do better. Gordon says that the PPE equipment from this firm is lower-priced and better performing. Duterte must defend his stand as to why he chose Pharmally. Gordon must present his stand as to why he's against Pharmally and why he's chosen this health firm in Taiwan as the better alternative.
The reason behind the inefficiency is not because of Duterte or Gordon. Instead, it's because the presidential system hardly holds anybody accountable. I think Gordon would've already been grilling Duterte weekly in the parliamentary system. Duterte needs to straighten up if he expects to uphold the confidence of the whole legislative. If Duterte were directly held accountable by legislature - he would be made to present his SALN and whatever weekly. Gordon would also have to do the same to show he's worthy of being the opposition leader. Gordon could call for a vote of no confidence against Duterte if ever there's a loss of confidence against the latter. Both sides would be held in competition against each other directly - something that's not done in the presidential system.
Comments
Post a Comment