Turncoats

CHANGE is indeed coming. The transition of power to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has become more apparent even in the incoming 17th Congress.
In the House of Representatives, a Congress shake-up is currently ongoing after several members of the ruling Liberal Party have decided to curtail its “Tuwid na Daan” (Straight Path) engagement for Duterte’s PDP-Laban Coalition. Several elected congressmen and congresswomen have also decided to jump ship from their respective parties to support the incoming president.
According to Inquirer.net, other parties have gravitated towards PDP-Laban, namely the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, National Unity Party and the 45-member party-list coalition. They are expected to enforce Duterte’s platforms with laws to rein corruption and criminality in the country.
Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who led the House speakership in the 15th and 16th Congress under the Liberal Party, has conceded and joined the minority.
“I will join the minority, I have no idea how many are joining it,” he said after at least 80 of the the 116 elected Liberal Party members have decided to transfer to PDP-Laban.
“He was elected by the people and the expectations are high. We will give the new President all the chances to make good on what he has been saying, as along as it is within the Constitution and legal limits,” Belmonte said referring to the incoming administration.
Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, who have chosen to remain with the minority, vowed to oppose any radical change that Duterte wants to impose, namely death penalty and the federal form of government.
“Being in the minority will be difficult and lonely but this is the course that I must take towards the path of improving the political consciousness of our people,” Erice said.
The Philippines has three branches of government: the executive (President), the legislative (Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) and the judiciary (Supreme Court and all other courts). Each department has a distinct and essential role in the function of the government, and was established under the Constitution.
The separation of powers was created to ensure cohesive central government supported by three integral and independent divisions with divergent powers and responsibilities. They work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed.
Even with the luxury of their independence, these three departments operate with built-in checks and balances to prevent concentration of power in any one branch, to protect the rights and liberties of citizens, and to avoid Constitutional crisis.
Filipinos expect these three great departments to work together to solve the country’s much bigger problems. Enhancing such cooperation among the branches may be achieved by meeting regularly to discuss issues and be involved in addressing key problems facing the nation. For the benefit of their people, a compromise is mandatory. (AJPress)