Loose Accountability, No More

They say, “Promises are meant to be broken”; I say – that shouldn’t be the case when the people’s lives and the nation’s future are at stake. The power of promises and such declaration is extremely misused for personal and selfish interest of politicians running for office. History proves that they have utilized rhetoric speeches in order to convince, or to put it bluntly – to lure the electorate or all the people who have the power to vote in an election. We should learn from this and begin making these politicians accountable for their broken and false promises by suing them for non-fulfillment of platforms which they officially declared during campaigns.

“If elected president, give me about three to six months, I will get rid of corruption, drugs and criminality,” 

sounds familiar? Can we say that 16 million Filipinos fell for this? We can only guess, right? Politicians can give strong words as much as they wish, from promising changes to ambitious projects that really click with our ideals. THAT’S WHAT THEY DO. Politicians are poets and we are fools! The 16 million who voted for him are fools, then? Isn’t that painful to hear? That’s why the democratic nation that we are must realize the power we can hold over them. We cannot do anything but to be wise in electing these runners.

It is in the constitution of this republic that honesty and integrity must be embodied by public officials or the government per se.

Under Article XI Section 1. Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives. Being stated, the potential public officials must start exhibiting these attributes as early as their campaign period. This kind of ideal must be practiced with no exemptions. 

Essentially, under Article II Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption. Since politicians are part of the State, and the State encompasses the People; thus, politicians must follow state policies to respect the people who placed them in.
But there’s a flaw here because nothing is stated regarding the proper decorum for the running politicians. This gives them the freedom to promise as much as they want, as long as it benefits or will benefit them because they are not yet accountable when they are not yet in the position as public officials. Here comes my reactive proposition – we therefore must have the power to put pressure as to finally fulfill their platforms when they get elected as public officials, or even sue them if these platforms are unfulfilled.

History will repeat itself if we never learn from it. How many elections have had passed that overused the never-ending narrative of official platforms of “for the people or for the Filipino masses”? That’s the sad truth, isn’t it? That politicians are free to declare platforms that would resonate with the people during campaign – and these are always good. The only proactive way is for the electorate to be well-informed and be able to distinguish sincere motives from the rhetorical narratives. But unfortunately, education and educating people is another battle we have to fight for. So what else can we do? Be reactive.

The state must allow the electorate to have a responsive action when such official platforms by politicians are not fulfilled during or after their term. However, the counterargument in my proposition would be – what if such project or promise cannot truly be realized due to reasonable reasons? I say, then why make these promises in the beginning without knowing or at least assuming the feasibility of achieving it? Worse, what if the politicians have also done better things not stated in his/her platforms before and actually are delivering more than what is expected? 

I say, is that enough compensation when the people who voted for you were rooting for these now unfulfilled promises? I am asking for accountability, and just for the record, it is your job to deliver in your work as you practice the values and virtues of the constitution.

To end my speech, I believe that being a democratic country has a reason and purpose, and the constitution was not made for nothing. The state shall grant such power to the electorate to sue politicians for non-fulfilment of platforms which they officially declared during campaigns. Since we are a democratic nation, the essence of democracy must be realized by holding accountability to whom accountability is due. Let’s seek the power to pressure, to account, and even to sue politicians for their nonfulfillment of platforms as these are broken vows, false promises, and manipulative strategy to earn and be in power. It lies on the electorate to account them for their honesty and integrity. There is no more democratic than giving and having the people the power and liberty to make wise and careful decisions that would shape the posterity and the status of their beloved nation. 

Therefore, I call for NO MORE LOOSE ACCOUNTABILITY! 

#NeverAgain #LooseAccountabilityNoMore

References:

The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines

Duterte vows to end criminality in 3 months, The Philippine Star, February 20, 2016

Persuasive Speech
SPEECH 30 (Basic Speech Fundamentals)

March 30, 2019

Motion: THW sue politicians for non-fulfillment of platforms which they officially declared during campaigns

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/816443/duterte-asks-for-another-6-months-to-stop-crime-drugs

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