The gadfly strikes again. The inference to the Lacson-Sotto tandem is there for everyone to read. The practice has been institutionalized for the longest time. It may have been prevalent in past Presidential contests where there was a high element of
manilatimes.net/2021/07/23/opi…
political instability but this time around, with an opposition in its death throes, what would the public's alternative be if there was no Lacson-Sotto to put up a challenge against the administration? It's no secret that politics is a lucrative "profession" in the country. This
is specially true at the local level among Governors, Mayors and Congressmen. Political contributions are invested in legitimate businesses which provides employment and tax revenues for the government. Ask any elected official and this is their usual defense against allegations
of corruption. Running for the two highest posts in the land is not easy during normal times. It's more difficult now in the middle of the pandemic. The incumbent Vice-President refuses to admit the fact that she has no financial backing for a Presidential campaign because of
her image problem even if her survey numbers are higher than Lacson's. This is the essence of democracy; the freedom to choose in a manner where the people make their choices known through the ballot. In comparison, a federal parlai system is less expensive for the candidate and
the public. Why? A Prime Minister can be voted out of office for loss of confidence. Continuity can also be ensured and lawmaking an easier process because Cabinet Ministers are also members of parliament. The 1987 Constitution is but the justification for the continuing
existence of oligarchs and corruption in government, if you think about it. How much do taxpayers spend annually for the Senate and the House of Representatives? Regional parlialents and a single national parliament is cheaper, more effective and allows the direct participation
of constituents. It's crucial for the public to have a choice in the 2022 election. The people are wary of the opposition's intransigent attitude towards the administration. There are those in the opposition who would vote for a viable alternative. There are also those who are
disaffected with the administration. This can't be denied. Each individual has an opinion. This is the basic principle of a democracy no matter how flawed. But there is definitely room for improvement. Hopefully once the Lacson-Sotto tandem makes public their platform, federalism
and charter change are included. Lacson's Budget Reform for Village Empowerment Bill (BRAVE) actually makes development funds available for the provinces down to the barangay level that is not subject to the control of the national government. This prevents the politicization of
the release of funds from the national budget which is traditionally under the control of the Executive and the Congressmen by way of the Internal Revenue Allotment and the pork barrel. It is a budget reform measure aimed at minimizing corruption and ensuring funds are spent for
the benefit of the constituents. The more stringent reform measure to prevent politicians from running "for the funds of it" as the former Ambassador puts it, is the enactment of a campaign finance law which would allow the public to contribute to candidates campaigns directly.
Current campaign finance provisions in the Omnibus Election Code are a joke. Every Juan knows that campaign spending reports are doctored to comply with the law. Delay in submission means disqualification but look at what happened in 2016 when then Comelec Chair Andy Bautista
granted the Liberal Party an "extension" to prevent disqualification. This is not provided for under the Omnibus Election Code and then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez filed suit against the Comelec but nothing came out of it anymore. Maybe we are really better off under an
authoritarian government but while we are in a democracy, there is no other choice but to be politically pragmatic.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with The Buried Lead on GRP - Ramon Ortoll

The Buried Lead on GRP - Ramon Ortoll Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @marortoll

23 Jul
Where is the substance in this piece by Mang Tonyo? Numbers he cited comes from Ibon's Sonny Africa. That's biased to begin with. Tonyo also displays a lack of grasp of economics and public finance. The basic is, any revenue shortfall of the government is
mb.com.ph/2021/07/24/p10…
financed by borrowings; external and Internal. The ideal is to have a balanced budget. Government is not a business that's run for profit. It's easy for Tonyo to say the monies are there without taking into account the budget deficit, debt service and funding extraordinary
contingencies arising from fortuitous events such as the projected Delta surge. He deigns to compare the Philippines with the US which is a rich country and has the dollar as fiat currency. Has he looked at the current US budget deficit? The inflationary pressure tax-and-spend is
Read 7 tweets
23 Jul
The Delta variant just dashed the hope that a global economic recovery would begin two years into the pandemic. While most of the opinions expressed have been about pandemic response, both good and bad, the no one has dared to point out the elephant in the
philstar.com/business/2021/…
room that is the only clear path to putting an end to the pandemic; increased vaccine supplies. Viruses mutate continuously while circulating. That is a fact. Yet rich countries continue to prioritize their own population for vaccination. This year we have seen how Covid has
ravaged South America, Brazil and Peru, in particular in that region. India has suffered worst than Brazil with record cases and deaths. The same is being replicated now in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Indonesia, which is passing India's numbers. Australia, Malaysia,
Read 17 tweets
22 Jul
The SONA blues. The President will deliver his last SONA on July 26. Various news outlets have began taking the public sentiment on what they want to hear from the President when he delivers his valedictory address before Congress. Duterte would've
opinion.inquirer.net/142346/urgent-…
"graduated" with honors if not for the pandemic rudely interrupting his term. Pandemic response gets a passing grade because of how relatively bumbling the IATF-EID has performed. Still no unified contact-tracing system and adherence to the 3Ts - test, trace and treat. With the
confirmed community transmission of the Delta variant, we again face economic uncertainty because most of the Asia-Pacific region is suffering from a Delta-induced surge. It remains to be seen how we will weather this latest outbreak. Delta is more contagious than the original
Read 15 tweets
21 Jul
The members of the opposition should read this. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan casts serious doubts on US defense commitments to treaty partners such as the Philippines. The author proposes that ASEAN member countries add collective defense as one of
asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Asia-s…
group's goals given the heightened tensions between China and the US. This doesn't have positive prospects in the near-term given the ASEAN member countries vested interests, particularly those with competing claims in the disputed body of water. This is made more difficult by
the pandemic which has seen a cutback in training exercises given the prevalence of the Delta variant in the region. It is also hard to commit 2% of GDP as defense spending given the less progressive members having to borrow funds to finance pandemic response, primarily vaccine
Read 4 tweets
21 Jul
The traditional economic boost an election cycle brings to the economy may or may not materialize this cycle due to the exigencies of the pandemic. Mass gatherings are banned so there will be no usual campaign sorties and rallies in the provinces. This
opinion.inquirer.net/142240/electio…
begs the question how will the campaign be conducted? It will be done online through social media platforms, traditional broadcast outlets such as TV, radio and CATV in the regions where connectivity doesn't exist or is spotty at best. There will be more ads on these platforms
which will fuel temporary employment for those who are adept in digital sales and marketing. It will be an effort on the part of the candidates and the voters to meet halfway and exchange information. There will be an increasing reliance on internal surveys to determine if the
Read 10 tweets
21 Jul
Surveys as a deyerminant of voter base isn't accurate. Why? What if the candidate doesn't really have a voter base? As stated in a previous piece, Isko's voter base is Manila. Give him NCR as the benefit of the doubt. Though it is one of the most populous
manilatimes.net/2021/07/22/opi…
regions in the country, it doesn't mean each and every voter will go for Isko. The same is true with Manny Pacquiao and Grace Poe. The same is true with Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. But in the end, it's the electricity in the air which an individual with excellent political gut feel
will sense that a candidate will win. This is true with Duterte in 2016. What then is Contreras touting as the middle ground with Pacquiao, Isko and Poe? I've always opined that an Isko-Poe tandem is viable. But as a winner, that's another thing altogether. Their combined glass
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(