On Appointment vs. Election

DO YOU THINK THAT PRESIDENT AQUINO'S PLAN OF JUST DELEGATING OFFICIALS TO BE IN CHARGE OF ARMM UNTIL THE 2013 ELECTIONS HAPPEN IS BETTER? OR DO YOU THINK THAT THE PRESENT OFFICIALS OF ARMM SHOULD STILL GOVERN ARMM UNTIL THE 2013 ELECTIONS HAPPEN? PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.

Appointing an OIC government is better because of the following grounds:

a)            LEGAL

a.            Appointing OIC transition government is within the Constitution.

[NOTE in the Bernas’ article, “Synchronizing ARMM Elections,” April 24, 2011, PDI: “I suggest that the better model for empowering the President to fill temporary vacancies by appointment is Section 7 of the Transitory Provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Said Section 7 authorized the President to fill by appointment the seats reserved for sectoral representatives—but only from a list of nominees prepared by various sectors. A role thus was given to the concerned sectors in filling vacancies. A similar limitation on the choice to be made by the President can be included in the synchronization law. Unless such limitation on the President’s discretion is placed, he could very well fill the offices with his party mates. Imposing such limitation will make the appointment closer to a democratic process.”
b.            In the course of wanting to synchronize the ARMM election with the national and local election in 2013, the two options are to have the August 2011 election (that is cutting short the term of office of the elected officials) and to postpone the election. having holdover officials or extending the terms of officials is deemed unconstitutional as the term of local officials, except barangay officials, which shall be determined by law shall be three years (Section 8, Article 10).  Now on the second option, whether to have a holdover of office for the incumbent officials or to have an OIC transition government, likewise, the Supreme Court has already ruled several times against having holdover officials (Osmena vs Comelec, Menzon vs Petilla).  If the proposal to have holdover officials will push through, we will have for the next two years the Ampatuan administration that was elected in 2008 still handling ARMM. [NOTE: Only RG Ampatuan was removed, all other officials are still in power.] Hence, appointment.

b)            PRACTICAL
a.            Appointed officials are easier to remove if they will not deliver compared to elected officials.
b.            Government will save the money for election (the 3B will go to COMELEC savings which, according to Com. Sarmiento, may be used for a new building or for preparation for the coming 2013 midterm election).
c.             The candidates will save money, resources and effort. They do not have to pour out their family’s wealth just to buy votes and to ensure that the political machinery is well-oiled. They just have to prove that they are worth-appointing based on merits. Very practical.

c)            MERIT-WISE
a.            Appointed officials are chosen based ON MERITS AND SECTORAL REPRESENTATION and not on the 3G (guns, gold and goons) that are common for elective officials.
b.            They are expected to perform better since they will undergo scrutiny, compared to elected officials who do not need the credentials, background and skills to govern or to legislate.
[NOTE: The kind of elected officials ARMM has can be traced on the profiles of the past and incumbents. From narcopoliticians, warlords and transactional trapos to non-performing leaders, ARMM suffers from the hands of these kinds of elected leaders. There are exceptions, however.]

The bill gained opposition on the question of whether or not the President can appoint OIC government should election in ARMM be postponed and synchronized with the May 2013 election. However, it cannot be doubted that the President exercises residual powers as Chief Executive. Under the 1987 Constitution, Section 16, Article 10, the President shall exercise general supervision over autonomous regions to ensure that laws are faithfully executed. Executive power is vested in the President of the Philippines (Section 1, Article 7) and temporary appointments to executive positions can be made so as not to prejudice public service or endanger public safety (Section 15, Article 7).

Of course, appointing OIC government is just for the 21 months transition government. Election remains to be the best form of choosing the best leaders IF (take note on the condition) the election is clean, honest, peaceful, fair and free. Not until there are glitches, gambling our precious right to suffrage is not worth it.