Should we change the term and election of our elected officials including the President? This is a radical proposal that we need to look at.

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Nag-propose ng mga amendments sa ating konstitusyon si Sen. Robin Hood Padilla para palitan yung mga terms ng mga elected officials natin.

Ngayon pag-aralan nga natin yung mga ibat-ibang mga amendments na pinopropose niya at tignan natin kung may merits ba ito o wala.

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Okay, umpisa na natin ito. Nung narinig ko itong proposal ni Robin Hood Padilla, ang una kong ginawa ay tinanong ko sa sarili ko, bakit ba niya ito ginagawa ngayong panahon na ito?

Ano ba yung rason at ano ba yung objective ng pagbibigay na itong mga proposals na ito sa ating konstitusyon?

Naalam ko may mga iba sa inyo do not like Robin Padilla and some of you love him.

Pero before we put our personal biases here, tignan muna natin kung may merits nga itong mga pinopropose niya.

Alright, first of all, ito yung mga rason kung bakit pinopropose niya.

The first one na binanggit niya is that the Philippines ranks 52nd out of 167 countries in the Democracy Index and dahil daw ito sa political culture and functioning of government and political participation.

So yung unang rason na ito, I don't think it's because of the terms of our elected official ang nagkukos na itong mababang ranking natin sa Democracy Index.

I think it's because of the politicking and because of the political agenda of some of the people in the executive and legislative branch.

And dahil hindi nasa-separate yung legislative sa executive and sa judicial.

Yun ang rason kung bakit mababang tayo sa Democracy Index.

Next one, historical data from ADB reveals that in the past decade, political instability and frequent turnover of elected officials has been the identifier of major impediments to long-term planning and policy continuity.

Honestly, if you look at it, maraming nga tayong political dynasties and yet if you think about it,

it's saying that political instability is because of the turnover when in fact, ang tagal nga ng mga politiko natin dito.

I think they're talking about the legal aspect but they're not talking about the real-life aspect, yung kung ano yung nangyari in real life sa Pilipinas.

Na hindi nga frequent ang turnover eh. Ang tagal nga ng mga politiko natin dito eh.

Perfect example, Juan Ponce Enrile. I think the man is over 100 years old and he's still here.

He was here before 1986 and until now, andito pa siya.

Okay, pangatlong reason daw.

It is imperative to strike a balance between the need for policy continuity which requires adequate time for lawmakers to fulfill their legislative agenda

and the need to prevent accumulation of power which may lead to political entrenchment.

I agree with policy continuity.

And I'm gonna explain to you which sections I agree with sa kanyang amendments ha, but not in totality.

Kasi ang problema nga natin with the accumulation of power is that ang daming ang mga political dynasties sa Pilipinas.

At sobra nga silang entrenched.

Na nagkakaroon nga ng mga political armies at hindi nga silang matanggal sa kanilang posisyon.

So changing the terms of the elected officials is not gonna help that.

There has to be a different legislation to be able to address the issue of political dynasties.

That is the real problem.

Next, sabi niya dito, it's important to provide an allowable extension of service.

Thus providing elected officials with a more substantial opportunity to affect long-term change.

Again, I agree with what he's trying to say.

Pero in reality nga kasi, ang tagal na nga ng ating mga politiko na namumuno sa ating bansa.

Pero wala naman nang nangyaring mga effective long-term change.

So they're able to skirt around this issue na and yet wala silang nagagawang pagbabago talaga.

So I can't see kung paano ma-address ng law na ito yung mga issues ng political entrenchment directly.

Ngayon himayin na natin yung mga amendments na gusto gawin ni Robin Hood Padilla.

At tignan nga natin kung okay ba siya o hindi.

Unang-una, section 2 of article 6.

Now before I tell you the proposal, I'll first tell you what the current system is.

Currently, 24 ang ating mga senador.

Ang gusto ni Robin Hood Padilla i-propose at palitan ay gusto niyang gawing 54 ang senators natin.

With the 30 additional senators being voted by region instead of a national election for the senators.

For this section, I don't agree with Robin Padilla.

And this is because by adding 30 more senators that are voted by region, that's actually redundant.

Kasi yung kongreso nga ay voted by region.

So parang ginawa mo na rin, nagboto ka ng mga kongresista na ilalagay mo sa senado.

Eh bakit ka pa nagkaroon ng kongreso kung magkakaroon ka rin ng mga representatives per region in the senate?

The senate is the upper house and the congress is the lower house.

And they have fairly co-equal powers in terms of legislation.

At dahil sa redundancy na ito, madadagdaga ng gastos ng ating bansa.

Para bayaran ang mga senador na ito at ang kanilang mga opisina.

Hindi gaganda ang mga batas natin at hindi lalong mag-i-improve ang proseso ng legislation by adding 30 more members to the senate.

As a matter of fact, pag nagdadagdag ka ng ganyang karaming tao sa senado, lalong babagal ang proseso.

So I don't agree with section 2 and I think that should be struck down and taken out.

Ngayon, tignan naman natin yung section 4 of article 6.

Now, the current term of the senators is 6 years with 2 consecutive terms for a total of 12 years in office.

Ang pinopropose si Sen. Padilla ay gawing 8 years ang term ng isang senador.

With 2 consecutive terms, that means that the senator is going to be in power for 16 years.

At pinag-usapan niya dito yung term ng 30 regional senators.

Okay, hindi ko na pag-uusapan niya because I don't agree with the 30 new senators.

So I'll just talk about the 24 senators term, changing it from 6 to 8.

I don't agree with extending it to 8 years.

At dahil sobrang haba ng 8 years, na hindi ito makakadagdag sa improvement ng legislative process.

And as a matter of fact, tingin ko na magkakaroon ito ng problema in the legislative process

because pag ang isang tao nasa posisyon ng 8 years, maraming pwedeng mangyari.

Pwede silang maging physically incapacitated o kaya mentally incapacitated.

At magkakaroon ng problema to be able to find somebody to fill in their positions

pag nagkaroon sila ng mental or physical incapacitation.

Tapos to be able to vote for them after 8 years, karamihan sa atin,

hindi na nga natin maaalala kung ano ba yung mga kapalpakan o mga magagaling na nagagawa nila.

To be able to decide kung gusto pa natin sila i-reelect for another 8 years.

Ito yung gusto ko i-propose kay Sen. Padilla.

Imbis na gawing 8 years, gawin mo na lang 4 years ang term ng isang senador.

Tapos allow them 3 quarters.

In consecutive terms.

In this way, they're able to still serve for 12 years.

Pero in this case, meron tayong parang mid-term election to be able to decide kung gusto pa rin natin sila after 4 years.

Kasi in 4 years, makikita natin kung effective ba itong senador na ito.

Hindi. At kung hindi, palitan na siya after 4 years.

At kung magaling siya, ibalik natin for another 4.

At kung kaya pa niya, ibalik natin for another 4.

Mas okay pa ako doon.

Next, section 7 of article 6.

Ito naman, pinag-uusapan yung ating kongreso.

The current system allows for members of congress to have a term of 3 years and they can be elected 3 times.

For a total of 9 years in office.

Ngayon, gusto niya gawing 4 year terms for 3 consecutive times to make it 12 years in office.

So for me, I'm indifferent towards it.

Pwedeng 3 consecutive terms o kaya for congress, pwedeng gawin na lang natin 2 consecutive terms.

Because being able to serve for 8 years is long enough anyway.

And plus, I think it will help lessen the political entrenchment.

Dahil magkakaroon tayo ng pagkakataon to be able to introduce new blood into the congress.

And possibly better members of congress to be able to represent us.

So it might be a better idea to limit the term to 2 years pero 4 year terms.

For a total of 8 years.

O, ito na yung juicy part.

Yung section 4 of article 7.

It's the term of the president and the vice president.

Ang current system natin is the president and vice president is elected.

Once for 6 years.

At pinapalitan every 6 years.

I actually like that.

Because walang posibilidad na ma-reelect ang isang presidente.

At hindi siya ma-e-entrench sa posisyon niya.

At yung current system natin, yung president and vice president does not have to be from the same party.

So you vote for them separately.

Okay, ito yung pinapropose ni Senator Padilla.

The president and vice president shall be elected as a joint candidate by direct vote from the people

for a term of 4 years.

Instead of 6.

And they shall not be elected for more than 2 terms.

And dinagdag niya dito that a president who served for 2 terms

shall not be qualified to run for any other elective position.

And any person who has succeeded the president or vice president

shall only be qualified for one election to the same office at any time.

Kahit na hindi ako sang-ayon sa idea ng re-election for president and vice president,

I actually like section 4 of article 7.

Unang-una, I like the fact that it's a joint candidate.

And I like the fact that it's only 4 years.

This is actually the same as the presidential and vice presidential term sa United States.

At kaya gusto ko ito dahil mas maikli ang 4 years kaysa sa 6 years.

And it serves as some sort of a midterm vote of confidence or vote of no confidence

for the president and vice president.

So ibig sabihin yan, after 4 years, malalaman na natin, okay ba itong presidente na ito o hindi.

At pag hindi siya okay, pwede natin siya palitan after 4 years.

Malilimit yung damage na nagagawa ng presidente at vice president natin.

At kung magaling naman sila, bibigyan natin sila ng fresh mandate to be able to continue in power for another 4 years.

So I'm actually okay with this.

At gusto ko yung pangalawang statement dito, no?

That the president who shall serve 2 terms will not be qualified to run for any other elective office.

I love that and that should be the case.

Kasi tignan mo nga yung ating mga ibang past presidents, ngayon bumabalik as part of Congress.

Tama na. Tapos ka na.

At gusto ko rin itong sentence na ito eh.

That any person na magsasakseed sa president or vice president,

in other words, kumbaga let's say yung vice president ay naging presidente dahil nawala yung presidente,

they can run one time.

Then after that, hindi na siya pwede mag-run for re-election.

And I think this could be good for the country dahil ito, magkakaroon tayo ng stability sa mga policies natin.

Okay, and the last one here is yung section 8 of article 10,

which is the term of elective office.

Elective local officials, ito yung mga mayor, vice mayor, councillors.

Yung current system natin is they're elected for 3 years and they can run for 3 consecutive terms.

Ngayon, ang pinopropose dito is palitan yan to 4 years and then they can run for 3 consecutive terms.

This one, I agree with.

Kasi I think that the 3-year term for local government, mga mayors and vice mayors ay sobrang ikli.

Dahil isipin mo ito ah.

Pag na-elect sila, the first year in office, they're probably just learning their job

and they're trying to implement the policy.

Second year, na-implement na siguro yung policies and by the third year,

they're already preparing to run for re-election.

So, imbis na magtatrabaho sila on the third year, they're focusing on re-election.

So, hindi nila talaga na gagawa yung trabaho na tama.

Pero by extending it to 4 years, it allows them more time to be able to implement real change in the local government.

And then, after 4 years, we can look at it and decide,

oh, effective ba itong mayor na ito o itong vice mayor na ito o itong mga councillors na ito?

And then, either give them a vote,

a vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence to be able to continue for another term.

Ngayon, sinasabi dito sa proposal is it should be 3 consecutive terms.

I'm not really sure if I'm okay with 3 terms kasi that'll mean 12 years in office versus the current 9 years.

I think maybe okay na yung 8 years in office similar to the president

because for the executive departments naman tulad ng mga mayor and vice mayor and president,

I think they can do enough for the country and for their city

in an 8-year time.

At naniniwala ako that the executive positions are more taxing.

Mas mahirap siya at mas maraming trabaho.

That 8 years is long enough.

And I think there should always be a new fresh perspective after 8 years na hindi na patatagalin beyond that.

Para may fresh ideas palagi, fresh way of looking at things.

Kasi sometimes, pag sobrang tagal ka na sa isang trabaho, magiging complacent ka eh.

At nagbibigay tayo ng opportunity for other people to be able to inject new ideas and new policies

based on the current times.

And in this way, it'll make the city more progressive.

Yes to 4 years but limited to 2 consecutive terms only for local elective officials.

Here are my final thoughts on this.

I think na may merits naman itong pinopropose ni Sen. Padilla.

At meron ako nakikitang pwede mga benefits dito.

Pero ang tingin kong kailangan talaga pag-isipan ang ating mga senador in studying this proposal

is meron bang problema ang ating current system na kailangan na agad dito?

Pagpalitan in terms of terms of elected officials.

O kaya is there a different proposal that can address the issue of political entrenchment and political instability?

At ang isa pang angulo na kailangan pag-isipan ng mga senador bago nilang pag-usapan itong resolution na ito ay

meron bang mga legislation na mas importante at mas urgent at mas kailangan iprioridad imbis na ito?

Kung meron yun, kailangan nilang unahin yun.

Dahil I believe there is legislation.

That directly impacts the lives of Filipinos na kailangan ng pag-usapan at gawin.

At pag matatapos nila lahat yun, baka pwede nila itong pag-usapan.

Pero kung tingin nila kaya nilang gawin lahat na itong mga legislative agendas nila

all at the same time na hindi ma-de-delay yung mga priority legislation, then by all means go for it.

Kung willing sila mag-work overtime to be able to make this all happen at the same time, who am I to stop them? Diba?

The more hardworking the senators are, the better for the country.

Ikaw, anong tingin mo? Agree ka ba dito kay Sen. Robin Padilla at yung kanyang mga proposals?

O kaya apektado ka ba sa bias mo against him or for him that affects your decision making process?

Gusto ko marinig lahat ng mga opinion nyo whether you agree or disagree o kaya baka may mga namiss akong mga points.

Please write all of that in the comment section below. I'm gonna be reading some of these comments.

At sana nakatulong itong video neto para makapag-isip tayo ng mas maayos at mas maging critical thinkers tayo para sa kauunlad ng ating buong bansa.

At ng ating mga kababayan.

Salamat ito si Kristen. Magkita tayo muli sa aking susunod na video.