E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
Non-pols for the poll body
Sunday, 10 07, 2007
A politician recently botched up his job at the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Instead of working for the people, he went at his job with himself foremost in his agenda. In fact, all politicians who have gone to the Comelec have left it in disarray, and they were shorn of all respect and honor. Commissioners who were appointed to that body straight from politics left a legacy of rigged elections and multimillion scandals.
In comparison, the others who were not from the field of politics acquitted themselves well. The late Haydee Yorac comes to mind. Add to this list Nicodemo Ferrer, Florentino Tuason, Felix Brawner and Rene Sarmiento of the current commission who, despite the unsavory stench that traditionally cling to Comelec officials, have not been tainted at all.
It is about time we try the non-politicians.
By “politicians,” I refer not only to those who have dabbled in politics — read that as “ran for elective public office” — but also those who seek the office of “honorable commissioner.” Scratch the skin of anyone who lobbies for the position and you will find a politician.
Just what is it in the politician that makes him prone to perform very badly at the Comelec?
For starters, it will take a superhuman effort to go against the culture of utang na loob that pervades that body. The politician who suddenly finds himself administering what is supposed to be clean and honest elections cannot say “no” to the pakiusap of a political colleague or the powerful who bestowed on him the appointment. He will just have to return the favor.
Second, and perhaps more alluring, is the glitter of gold. You know what they say about that precious metal: gold is tested by fire, man by gold. To decide an electoral case this way or that, the politician now-commissioner will always find himself being offered amounts that go well beyond his dreams of avarice. He has been so used to making money under suspicious circumstances, and by force of habit, he brings over that practice to the supposedly honorable chambers of the Comelec.
Opportunities to make even bigger money abound, either for one’s self or, because you have to share the wealth, for favored associates. Remember the multibillion automation project that has become a pile of digital equipment now rusting in peace in some obscure bodega? Or the ever lucrative purchase of ballot boxes and printing of election paraphernalia?
The heady feel of being empowered to peddle influence is just irresistible. One can be “the most powerful man in the country” in the course of an election campaign. Everyone says “yes” at your bidding. Politicians running for office are supposed to cower in fear, lest they displease you. And since the commissioner can influence the outcome of the elections, he may broker outside the Comelec on big deals and get hefty commissions. Was not the ZTE deal concluded in March, in the middle of the 2007 campaign?
Power and money corrupt absolutely, and that appears to be the failing of every politician.
Let us see then why we prefer the non-politician.
He owes nobody any favor. So he does not have to pay back anything to anyone.
The non-politician has been bred under a different culture, observant of common decency, if you will. He is armed with a profound sense of idealism, determined to do things right. He is vocal against the fraudsters and the corrupt, and has tangled with the worst of them in past elections.
His network of friends involved in politics is next to nil. So he always finds himself miles away from any peddler of influence, and he need not be the peddler himself. The opportunity is just not there.
The non-politician is content with what he has. He has already made his pile, and he acquired it honorably. He does not have to rely on the perks of his office to keep himself and family afloat. Neither is he on the look-out for opportunities, but when opportunities do present themselves, he readily says “no.” And he does not have to recoup anything, for he did not invest anything.
The non-politician is fearless, for he does not have skeletons in his closet. He is free from any financial or political entanglement — or from any dangerous liaisons past or continuing — and so he can move freely, without fear that some disgruntled party will rattle the bones of his past or air the dirty laundry of his present.
And he has no political plans either. He will be in the Comelec for seven years, determined to make good, and he is content with that. He will not prepare himself running for public office or seeking another high office after retirement.
The non-politician exhibits impartiality, decides purely on the merits and lets his qualifications and performance speak for themselves. And because of his nature, he will not kiss some politician’s derrière to occupy a seat in the Comelec.
Which brings me to the procedure which I have always espoused: Confirm the nominee first, before allowing him to take his seat. I said this in the case of Garci; as a matter of fact, I filed a petition against him before the Supreme Court, insisting then that the three-step process of “nomination, confirmation, appointment” be observed before a commissioner may be allowed to take his seat. Unfortunately, that petition never moved, and so we had a Garci in the Comelec, who made a travesty of the 2004 elections.
Just imagine if Garci had gone through the wringer of the Commission on Appointments. He would not have been confirmed. And not having been confirmed, he would not have taken his seat at the Comelec to play with his cellphone during the elections. And Fernando Poe, Jr. should be our president today.
Madame President, fill those vacancies at the Comelec with non-politicians.
No comments:
Post a Comment