This is a re-posted editorial/opinion piece.
There’s a lot of work ahead. When President Aquino says he can’t do it alone, he’s referring not only to the public but also to Congress. The executive’s reform agenda is best realized with the cooperation of the legislature.
While the two chambers of Congress have always rated poorly in surveys on performance and popularity, the 15th Congress can be credited for passing the 2011 General Appropriations Act on time, thereby avoiding a re-enactment of the previous year’s GAA – a favorite practice in the previous administration. President Aquino also got his wish for a postponement of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. From recent statements emanating from both chambers, it looks like the President can expect similar cooperation during the second session, without the legislature abdicating its oversight function over the executive.
Apart from supporting the President’s legislative agenda, lawmakers can also set the example in promoting good government. If Congress has always received abysmal ratings in surveys, it is partly because many of its members are seen to be among the most abusive public officials in this country. They use the congressional pork barrel to benefit personal interests, earmarking funds for the construction of roads to their families’ resorts, for example, instead of farm-to-market roads. They collect huge fees from lobbyists, and inflict unqualified contractors on executive departments in exchange for fat commissions. They are among the biggest reasons for corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The executive has learned to use the pork barrel system to push its legislative agenda, but lawmakers should not wait to be nudged in this way by Malacañang. It should not be seen as one of the major roadblocks along the straight path or daang matuwid that the administration has committed to take. While a rubberstamp Congress is not healthy for a democracy, the legislature shouldn’t mind being seen as a partner of the executive in good government.
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Source: The Philippine Star, Opinion, July 28, 2011
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