The draft of the Bayanihan Federalism Charter has been out—in one form or another—for more than a week now and the public reaction so far has been disappointingly muted. Considering that what’s at stake is the Basic Law—the one law that is considered written into every single statute, rule and regulation to ever be promulgated from the time of its ratification—the level of public discourse on the matter has been underwhelming, to say the least.
Considering the broad sweep of the draft charter, it can probably be argued that people—serious commentators and shoot-from-the-hip pundits alike—are simply being more circumspect. Still, with various quarters pushing for the immediate submission of this draft to a plebiscite, there is a very real danger that the country can get stampeded into voting on this before it’s even discussed properly. One can only hope that the debate doesn’t take too long to pick up. Some provisions, after all, are extremely worrying.
One, in particular, has made me anxious: the imposition of the requirement of a college degree in order to be eligible to run for high office. Where, under the 1987 Constitution, the candidates for the positions of president, vice president, senator, and member of the House of Representatives needed only to be able to read and write, now they have to have college degrees. Even members of the (as yet nonexistent) regional assemblies, in fact, are subject to this requirement, as well.
This innovation will no doubt have many supporters—mostly those who think that leadership positions in a democracy should be reserved for certain classes of people, i.e., taxpayers, the college educated, the rich. I, on the other hand, forcefully submit that this new requirement runs counter to the fundamental nature of democracy. Instead of guaranteeing that all eligible citizens can stand for election—the word “suffrage” is typically understood to encompass both active and passive suffrage, i.e., the right to vote and be voted for—this new requirement unjustifiably restricts access to leadership positions to, as found by a recent study, a mere 23 percent of Filipinos.
Interestingly, the Bayanihan Charter itself provides that: “No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.” And yet, requiring a college degree necessarily implies a person must have first attended college which, unfortunately, is now so expensive that a college degree is practically tantamount to a substantive property qualification.
And as the Supreme Court held in the landmark case of Aurea v. Comelec (GR L-24828): “Property qualifications are inconsistent with the nature and essence of the Republican system ordained in our Constitution and the principle of social justice underlying the same, for said political system is premised upon the tenet that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them, and this, in turn, implies necessarily that the right to vote and to be voted for shall not be dependent upon the wealth of the individual concerned, whereas social justice presupposes equal opportunity for all, rich and poor alike, and that, accordingly, no person shall, by reason of poverty, be denied the chance to be elected to public office.” Put more bluntly, this is an elitist provision if ever there was one, and I see no reason why it should have a place in this Charter.
Oh, and to those who might argue that a measure of elitism might be desirable to ensure good public service, a gentle reminder: having a college degree is a good thing, sure. But—and this is key—having a college has never guaranteed competence, much less integrity—whether in or out of the government. In fact, try this: think of the public official you hate the most—the one you consider most corrupt, most vile, and most undeserving of a government position, elected or otherwise. Nine times out of 10, that person will have a college degree.