BY DEAN ANDY BAUTISTA: PASS YOUR PAPER
MANILA, MARCH 13, 2010 (STAR) MY FOUR CENTAVOS By Dean Andy Bautista - Which aphorism do the recently decided electoral controversies exhibit – “justice delayed is justice denied” or “better late than never”? For Bulacan Governor Obet Pagdanganan, it looks like a case of the latter as sitting in the governor’s office during an election year presents distinct advantages (although as of today, we are still awaiting the final decision of the Supreme Court and he has not been able to assume the position). But for Senator Noynoy Aquino and the Liberal party, the late disqualification of KBL candidate Vetallano Acosta seems a case of “too late the hero” as many ballots have already been printed. This means that the nuisance value of an Acosta candidacy has already been accomplished – even if the votes for Acosta will no longer be counted, the Aquino name loses the advantage of being the first candidate for President written on the ballot. Add to these cases the ongoing 2007 gubernatorial battles between Jesus Typoco and Edgardo Tallado in Camarines Norte, Ed Panlilio and Lilia Pineda in Pampanga, Grace Padaca and Faustino Dy in Isabela and the Congressional fight of Angelito Reyes and Henry Duenas in Taguig. Regardless of who you are rooting for in these races, you wonder why decisions are being promulgated at the last minute, just before their three-year term is about to end. It makes one realize that sometimes, due process may be over done (as in overdue process). The allegations that certain political personalities are being targeted is a different, albeit a more sinister charge. But that is for the political analysts and columnists to debate and discuss. My beef is that in the same way that taxes are the lifeblood of government, elections are the cornerstone of a democracy. If you subvert (or delay) the will of the electoral majority, you are attacking head on the essence of our system of government.Perhaps Comelec, the electoral tribunals and our courts should re-imbibe and strictly adhere to the “finished or not finished, pass your paper” mentality which we all learned in grade school. For worse than an exam booklet with incomplete answers is a late booklet that will no longer be checked. For its part, Congress should enact a law that would encourage our judicial and quasi-judicial agencies to pass their papers earlier (i.e., expedite the resolution of cases and promulgate decisions at least one year before a term of office ends.)
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Electoral Post It: I was very pleased to see the full page publication of the list of all national candidates for the May 2010 elections in several newspapers. In this regard, both public and private corporations should assist in the information dissemination campaign by reproducing these lists and posting them in their bulletin boards and other conspicuous places for all to read. Perhaps companies can also prepare blank sample ballots and encourage their employees to fill them up before they head to the polling place so that we can help expedite the voting process and prevent long lines from forming in the precincts.
Speaking of order in the ballot, did you notice that of the 187 groups vying for party-list seats in the May 2010 elections, 12 have appended the number “1” or “1st” in their names and 103 start with the letter “A.” I will not be surprised if during the next elections, more numbers (as opposed to letters) will be used by organizations to further move them up the ballot. Without a doubt (as this has been mathematically and scientifically proven), top billing presents a distinct advantage to a candidate. But in order to help stem the continuing tragedy (or is it comic relief) of our party-list system, perhaps we can adopt a system similar to California where the placement of a candidate’s name is decided by lottery or in any random yet fair manner.
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Faux pas: In last week’s Flip flop column, I attributed the “separate-but-equal” phrase contained in the majority opinion of Plessy v. Ferguson to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. I received an early call on Saturday morning from my elder brother, Martin, to say that this could not have been the case. So I checked my US law books and indeed the writer of Plessy was not Holmes but Justice Henry Billings Brown. I confused the latter with the 1927 case of Buck v. Bell where the Supreme Court, in another unfortunate moment in its history, sustained a law allowing involuntary sterilization of institutionalized mental defectives. In that case, Justice Holmes justified the statute with the remark that “three generations of imbeciles are enough.” What makes my flip flop more embarrassing is that the person who pointed out the mistake happens to be a medical doctor.
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Golden boys: Two centavos this week go the Z brothers, Jaime and Fernando who, speaking of straight shooting family planning, were born one year apart within a few days from each other. A special golden centavo is given to Fernando as he celebrates a milestone year. And as his YPO forum brother Philip Ng rightly observed, his waist line is smaller now as compared to when he turned 40! I should also give two centavos to the brothers’ parents, Don Jaime and Doña Bea Zobel, for raising children who not only expanded the business but ensured that it stayed close to its Filipino roots and true to its mission of not only contributing to the family coffers but to the development of the nation. Indeed, I dare say that, in both deed and demeanor, the Z family is the closest we get to Philippine royalty.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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