Is there No One Else?
July 8th, 2007 at 11:19 pm (General, National Politics)
There is an on-going battle between current Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia and newly elected Cebu representative Pablo Garcia. Both are vying to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives when the 14th Congress opens on July 23, 2007.
For as long as I can remember, de Venecia has been the Speaker of the House. The only other Speakers I can remember are Ramon Mitra and Senator Manuel Villar. De Venecia, if I am not mistaken, has been Speaker for at least five terms already.
He is being challenged by Garcia, who, has never been Speaker of the House. Garcia, is by no means a neophyte in the political arena. In fact, he is the patriarch of the affluent Garcia clan that is considered as one of the most enduring political dynasties in the country.
Although de Venecia and Garcia come from and represent two different parties, they are not very different from each other. In my opinion, both represent the same kind of politics. I don’t think that both of them represent the kind of politics that is causing the political immaturity of Filipinos. Moreover, it seems that the fight between the two is fought through political maneuvering, alliances formed through negotiations, and popularity, rather than through a healthy political debate.
The fight between de Venecia and Garcia for the House Speakership is very much indicative of the many maladies afflicting our political system. For one, it seems like there is no alternative choice between two veteran politicians belonging to political dyanasties. Secondly, it has become a debate on personalities rather than issues.
Although there were very encouraging victories during the last elections that indicate that the Filipinos are maturing politically, it seems that we have a long way to go in terms of wholly and effectively changing the political landscape of the country.
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Karlo Mikhail said,
July 13, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Yes, a long, long way to go. So we better enjoy the show for now!
Just kidding.
I agree. Indeed, very much so. The house has been a bastion of traditional landlord and big business interests since time immemorial so it would be fitting for a reactionary institution to have any of the two at the helm, right? No. Now I’m being sarcastic.
Politics in this country is very disappointing, even frustrating. Now they’re even bastardizing the partylist system!