| The Philippine Consulate
General in San Francisco hosted the Town Hall Meeting with the
Filipino-American community last Saturday with visiting UP Professor
Dr. Clarita R. Carlos as Guest Speaker. The gathering was also
held in celebration of the 1st Anniversary of the Town Hall
Meeting, an initiative that was undertaken by the Consulate
to empower the community and make it an effective partner in
reaching out to growing number of Filipino-Americans in San
Francisco and the Bay Area through open discussion of critical
issues of the day.
Dr. Carlos, whose speech was entitled “Why Are We Where
We Are Today,” spoke on the political situation in the
Philippines. Her speech contained her observations as a private
individual and academician on the state of the country’s
political system and the corresponding efforts to institute
political and electoral reforms.
Describing the Philippine political system as a “liberal
democracy” based on the concept of a “one-man
vote” in determining the selection of the country’s
leaders, Dr. Carlos said that the Philippines had benefited
and, at the same time suffered also, from the effects of this
system.
“Such a system, where the vote of an individual carries
equal weight regardless of his social status, has promoted
democracy in our country but it also resulted in the election
of unqualified leaders,” she said.
Dr. Carlos expressed her views on what she described as the
weakness of the country’s political system, whose ills
are reflected in the people’s perceptions on the following:
- A highly centralized political system of government
which undermines the authority and independence of local government
units;
- A weak legislature where there is a lack of party
discipline and loyalty among major political parties, resulting
in political turncoatism during elections;
- Concerns over the judiciary as an independent branch
of government and the emergence of the military as a force
in Philippine politics.
In her speech, Dr. Carlos mentioned the advantages of a parliamentary
system, where the electoral campaign can be limited to as
little as “2-3 weeks” and where a simple “vote
of no-confidence” can result in the ouster of an incumbent
leader from power. She also briefly mentioned the federal
system of government which she said is being proposed to correct
the country’s highly centralized political structure.
In concluding her remarks, Dr. Carlos said that while charter
change, or Cha-Cha, is being openly debated in the Philippines,
in the final analysis it is the use of the “power to
vote” by the people that will serve as the catalyst
to institute political and electoral reforms in the country
and bring about a better life for its people.
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