An Alternative Representation

Written on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 5:19 pm | by Marck Ronald Rimorin

Thomas Paine once wrote, “The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected.”  We vote for representatives because we seek to protect our inalienable rights.  Paine continues on to say that to take away the right to vote is, in effect, to “reduce a man to slavery.”

Thankfully, here in the Philippines, we still have the right to vote.  Every three years, we vote for people who, by theory, are supposed to protect our rights.  Keyword: “supposed.”  Our politics is governed by a choice of lesser evils.  We have 240 “lesser evils” in Congress, 24 “lesser evils” in the Senate, and a couple of “lesser evils” taking residence in the Executive.  We are, in fact, reduced to slavery: slavery to the lesser evil.

Cocoy wrote an entry on this here at FilipinoVoices, and to be honest, I have no problems with the ideal of a “new party.”  It is true that we need to change the dynamic of The System, we have to replace The Government with a more inclusive political order, and the idea of a “new party” sounds good.

But… there’s a catch.

If all we’re looking for is a replacement to the oligarchic political order that permeates This Government, then surely the Commission on Elections would have no problems accommodating all sorts of “political parties” come the filing of Certificates of Candidacy for 2010.  And yet, we do: politics in the Philippines has become a promise of everything and nothing.  Anyone remember Eddie Gil?

I am sure that Cocoy is sincere in his desire for The System to be changed; and I’m sure that he won’t question my own desire and sincerity.  I agree that a new political party must be founded to stem the ill effects of trapos, political butterflies, and political Frankenstein monsters.

What we need from our political parties, especially our party-list groups, is an agenda.  Exactly what do they stand for?  What interests do they represent?  We need more than lip-service from our political parties, we need more than watered-down interest groups that serve for “everybody’s interest.”  What next?  The Philippine Emo Party?  Ang Pambansang Samahan ng mga Romantikong Bigo sa Pag-Ibig?

We need representation that works.  Not representation that serves as the avenue for the elite to name school buildings and streets after irrelevant historical figures.

Having too many Representatives in Congress can be solved in a couple of ways.  First, we can streamline Congress and dismiss absentee Representatives, or divide the Philippines into new geographical Congressional districts.  Or we can get rid of geographical Congressional districts altogether and adopt a representative system that furthers the cause of genuine interest groups, of causes that Filipino voters deem important for the next three years.

The second solution, I think, cuts into the meat of political issues by BEING the meat of political issues.  Instead of voting for old bags (no innuendo intended) for seats in Congress, people vote for issues that they deem important to them.  Representation based on issues would mean that the old political elites would no longer have their traditional political chokeholds on their haciendas, and more and more sincere and knowledgeable common folk would make laws for us.  More issues in Congress means more representation.  More representation means more laws.  More proactive laws mean a better Philippines.

Then again, this is a flawed, idealistic world we live in.

Again, Thomas Paine writes: “It is the nature and intention of a Constitution to prevent governing by party, by establishing a common principle that shall limit and control the power and impulse of party, and that says to all parties, thus far shalt thou go and no further.  But in the absence of a Constitution, men look entirely to party; and instead of principle governing party, party governs principle.”

Which is why an all-encompassing, holistic Party as prescribed by Cocoy is something I very respectfully disagree with.  A principle towards change must govern our desire for a party.  A party governed by principles is truly a party worth considering, but a party should not govern our principles.  We must stand for our principles and fight for it more than a political party should.

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About The Author: Marck Ronald Rimorin is a twenty-something blogger, "critic," and writer from Baguio City, and currently works in Metro Manila as a writer. His personal blog is at The Marocharim Experiment

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