It's near election time, again, isn't it? Just a few more days and elections are around the corner. May 9 happens to be the date of the elections. However, the trend has always been the same ever since the 1987 Constitution - people LOVE to get fooled. People have been under a wrong definition of democracy (that is, winner takes all politics) which is defined by popularity-based politics. Things seemed to go well after Fidel V. Ramos' administration. However, we've had a lot of problems even after that such as Filipino voters love to vote for inept candidates. People get into the legislative body because they're famous such as how Robert Jaworski and Jinggoy Estrada got into politics for their fame. I guess that's why some want to be celebrities - it's so they can enter politics!
We've had one election after the other. One can always say that the late Noynoy Aquino left an economic mark. However, Noynoy was surrounded by nincompoops like the late Stinky Soliman, Joseph Emilio Pabaya, Butcher Abad, Janette Garin, the late Chito Gascon, Etta Rosales, and Liela Dilemma. If Noynoy wasn't guilty of theft - he may be guilty of covering up his friends. President Rodrigo R. Duterte is also surrounded by nincompoops too such as Vice President Leni Loud Robredo, Nicanor Faildon, and Francisco Duque. Changing leaders isn't enough. So even if Noynoy was a good leader (which I think should be debated) - the presidential system actually encourages idiocy. That's why I even wrote an article asking what's the use of asking voters to vote wisely when the system itself is faulty.
The idea that nothing is wrong with the constitution but only the sitting in power is self-contradictory. If the constitution is flawless (as Hilarious Davide Jr. wants to think it as such) then why are there so many idiots in power? Just blame it on the voters? The current rules of the constitution declare that the person who gets the most votes will win. That's how Joseph Estrada won the presidency in the first place - by popular vote. Noynoy only won because of the emotional appeal of the death of his mother. Fortunately, Noynoy's death didn't propel Kris Aquino to run considering she's not in good health either. Though, it seems that Bobong Marcos might be in the lead only because of stupid Marcos loyalists who believe that the Marcos Years' socialist-style regime were the "golden years". Sara Duterte-Carpio may become vice president (regardless if Bobong or Leni Loud wins) only because of her father. The vicious cycle can go on. Leni Loud is apparently trying to get more popular than credible which might be the root cause of her loss if ever she loses.
However, parliamentary systems would change the way elections go. For a start, parliamentary systems are based on PARTY-BASED performance. For example, the Liberal Party is led by Leni Loud and PDP-Laban is led by Sara. All it takes is ONE CHECK MARK to vote for the party of your choice. The winning party becomes the majority bloc. However, the losing party is made to represent the minority as the opposition. So, it doesn't matter if Leni Loud or Sara is the prime minister - one of them will be the opposition leader who will be in charge of check and balance. The opposition will have their own set of appointees to keep the government appointees in check. For example, Teddy "Dancing Boy" Baguilat becomes the minister of culture - he will have to answer to a shadow minister of culture. If Bum Aquino is the minister of finance - he may have to prove himself to Karl Kendrick Chua as the shadow minister of finance.
The big difference is that parliamentary systems will encourage open air debates. People will be treated to a formal debate between the two parties. Everything can start with Leni Loud as the prime minister and Sara as the opposition leader or vice versa. If Sara wins then Leni Loud can lead the opposition to question Sara's governance. Also, it could be better if Leni Loud were the prime minister and Bobong was the opposition leader. No need to file a protest since Bobong will get his chance to prove himself that he can be a better leader than Leni Loud. People will see party-based politics to see which party has the better platform. There will be no more dancing and singing. Instead, it will focus on platforms on what the party intends to do. If a member of the parliament is proven useless - a vote of no confidence can be called to remove that person.
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