Now known as the Drama Queen, Dinky Soliman tearfully admitted that she knew what GMA was doing during the last elections and she was a party to it.  It is not only Dinky who should be sorry, but all of us.

It’s precisely people like Dinky Soliman—a member of the so-called Civil Society—who allowed these to happen just because it was their personal opinion that an actor shouldn’t be president. 

This is the problem we have today with the double standard mentality where supposedly moral and righteous people allow dubious means to justify their “noble” ends.  It is the old cacique mentality of “Kami puede, kayo hindi.”

It is even more irritating to see a mestizo-looking guy arrogantly demand on nationwide television that Noli de Castro make up his mind and join the Black and White Movement by November 30 otherwise, he too should resign.  Who is he? What power was vested upon him to decide?  The people?  Which people?  This is very typical today of the many who think they’re God’s gift to this country and they and only they, can decide who should be president.

We have to remember that 35 million people are eligible to vote in this country, and clearly, 20 million of them belong to the lower class of society.  In the supposed democratic system that we have, it is they who should decide.

The system simply shows that popularity is Number One, which was proven by Joseph Estrada.  FPJ could have probably won, and maybe he did because he was extremely popular.  The irony of it all is that the same people who didn’t want FPJ to be president are now asking for GMA’s resignation.

Unfortunately, FPJ is dead so we can never really know the truth because the Electoral Tribunal can only act on complaints filed by the living.  I have always maintained that EDSA 2 was a major factor in proving that our present system has failed us.  That’s where our problem started.

Joseph Estrada was a popularly elected president and in fairness to him, he submitted himself to an impeachment process.  He tried to follow the rule of law and the Constitution.  But we didn’t allow the process to run its course.  He was People-Powered out and now we’re paying for the consequences.  Erap believes he was unconstitutionally removed and therefore should not be detained.  Now even Erap calls his peacock Garci, to prove his point and greets Garci hello every morning.

It was never foreseen that a democratically elected president by over 11 million people would be removed mid-term.  The six-year term was precisely why there was to be no re-election so that an incumbent president cannot use the resources of government for re-election.  Since GMA was there, she obviously used it.  And also learning from EDSA 2 and the defective system, she succeeded in nipping the impeachment process in the bud.  This is where we are today.

GMA herself admits that the system is rotten and she’s prepared to change the system through Charter Change.  To many, she may be the problem, but she can also be the solution.  It can be semi-parliamentary, or whatever it is that is best suited for the country.  The sad part is that the system we have today is the “ako muna, bahala na kayo” system.  Inevitably, this must change.

And let’s face it—electoral cheating has been around us for so many years.  Horse-trading will always be an inherent part of any political system.  People will continue to argue till kingdom come that it is really the people who need to change, not the system.  But how can we change the people when the system allows more of these shenanigans?  We need a strong system that has less checks and is more balanced.  As it is, we have three institutions—the Executive branch, the bicameral Legislative branch, and the Judiciary—that are kingdoms by themselves.

We’re spending so much time trying to topple a president instead of trying to find ways to fix the problem.  Ideally, it would help if people can just see that the only way to move is to try another system of government—changing faces simply won’t cut it.  Otherwise, the only other route is to take the extreme way which is exactly what the Radical Left and the Ultra-Right want—the violent overthrow of the government.

At the very least, the Administration should be credited for its willingness to change the Constitution and the form of government.  So the FVR formula is probably the way to go.  And as FVR always says, “We’re all in the same boat.  So either we all sink or swim.”

Ideally, its proponents should get more people to agree on this through an awareness campaign.  A good system of government can in fact change people, especially if it is well defined.  It has been proven that the Filipino can do well in a system that works.  And so perhaps, one step backwards and two steps forward, and we can all dance the Cha-Cha-Cha. 

In two days, it will be the 42nd death Anniversary of John F. Kennedy.  History buffs might find the following coincidences between JFK and Abraham Lincoln, curious, if not chilling.  Abe Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, JFK in 1946.  Lincoln was elected president in 1860, JFK in 1960.  Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy, while Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.  Both were shot in the head on a Friday by Southerners.  Both were succeeded by a Johnson.  Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839; Kennedy’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.  Both assassins were known by their three names that are composed of 15 letters.  It gets even weirder.  Lincoln was shot at the Ford theater, while Kennedy was riding in a Ford Lincoln when he was shot.  What becomes more freaky is that Lincoln loved to stay in Monroe, Maryland while everybody knew JFK had an affair with Marilyn Monroe.

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Email: babeseyeview@hotmail.com

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