QUESTIONING THE LAW DEPARTMENT'S CAPABILITY

Dear Folks, I saw on TV how the candidates for President, Vice President and the Senate were facing the commissioners in the Commission on Elections. The place was the auditorium-like where TV cameras and reporters were allowed to enter.

I pitied the candidates because they were like ... that were being herded and then called "nuisance." That was utterly dehumanizing and inhuman. Even the Philippine Constitution guarantees respect of human rights. But in this case, the candidates had no rights at all.

The Comelec should review its methods of accepting certificates of candidacy. Its law department which handles the COCs should be entirely overhauled for its authoritarian, sarcastic and inhuman methods. They are not gods to act like that -- as if they were towering over everybody else and so the latter must kowtow to their every wish.

It is now very apparent that the root of our being immersed in corrupt governance stems from the crooked system of handling elections. The moneyed individuals, the wealthy parties can buy slots during elections and can insure the election of their candidates. They know the ways of the Commission.

Choosing leaders of the country requires agents who are wise, with managerial competence, professional, and patriotic. I wonder if these qualities have been required of those in the Law Department. It is time for us to scrutinize the backgrounds of the employees in that department.

Being lawyers is not enough if what they should do is choose who will be the candidates for such high positions as the president, the vice president, sanators and congress representavies, including partylists.

Being in a bureaucratic organization, the law department employees have been performing bureaucratic roles -- an 8 to 5 job, pushing papers, making phone calls, writing reports, and the like -- all boring activities that will not allow them to have that sociological, philosophical and creative minds to judge individuals, parties and the whole Philippine society.

Let us stop playing with the lives of our people. Give us just systems for changing leaders who will move our country and our people to greater heights of prosperity, equality and peace.