The Philippines Needs A Revolution

There is  petition circulating on Change.org asking that Duterte be granted "revolutionary powers."

https://www.change.org/p/the-people-of-the-philippines-to-grant-revolutionary-powers-to-president-rodrigo-duterte

 The accompanying letter reads thus:

Letter to

The People of the Philippines 

My friends and I share the sentiments of many of our FB friends who have called for action to help our President. We are raring to go just like many of you but we have to have a decisive action. 

This political battle is a numbers game. If we claim to have that numbers then we have won. But we just have to show it and use it. We can use our numbers to grant revolutionary powers to President Duterte. 

In EDSA 1986, more than two million people granted Cory Aquino revolutionary powers. They claimed to be representatives of the sovereign will of our people. Cory used this to issue Proclamation # 3 to install a revolutionary government and to adopt a provisional constitution. Can we do this? I believe so. It is not exclusive to the forces of EDSA 86. 

This is what we want to do. We want to initiate a campaign to mobilize the 21 million voters of the President so they can grant him revolutionary powers and do what Cory did. You may call this a campaign to give the opposition a dose of their own medicine. This campaign is to help empower our President to accomplish his task of bringing change in our country. 

We have a number to reach and even go beyond it. Cory Aquino needed only two million people to be granted with revolutionary powers. And 17 million people to ratify the 1987 Constitution. 

We need a united front effort to surpassed the 2 million mark. 

We can start with an internet campaign and when we have the numbers, we can converge to grant President Duterte the revolutionary power. 

We can start small. Remember, revolutions were started by a small group of patriots. We can start where we are with our family, relatives and friends. 

Never despise a small beginning. Remember, the flap of a butterfly can create a tornado. We just have to continue to love our people and believe that we are doing this for them. And by the grace of God, we can succeed. 

We are not really that small. In fact, there are more than 21 million Filipinos waiting and eager to come into action. We just have to join hands and move as one. All Duterte supporters must come together. 

This must be a people’s initiative to reflect the true will of the Filipino people. We have to put up our own provisions to accomplish this.

This is our idea of a decisive action to take. An idea of putting our sentiments into action. What do you think? Can we do this? Will you be part of it? Will you help? 

If you are willing, we will start it. 

We do not desire to lead you. We have to lead ourselves and work together if we want real change be made in our country. We must be driven to do this by our love for our country.

What is this letter even saying?  Is the petitioner unhappy with the 1987 constitution? It seems as if that is the case.  It seems as if the complaint is that Cory Aquino was "granted with revolutionary powers" and that she created a new constitution that is now being used to hamper Duterte in his plans to "accomplish his task of bringing change in our country."

Let's analyse this petition starting with this outlandish claim:

The sovereign will of the Filipino has been hijacked by the political elite and the oligarchy.  They re-engineered our constitution and system of government in 1986  to protect their own selfish interest and perpetuate control over our nation.

How has the sovereign will of the people been hijacked when Cory Aquino had the people behind her. The petitioner contradicts himself:

Cory Aquino needed only two million people to be granted with revolutionary powers. And 17 million people to ratify the 1987 Constitution. 

A nationwide vote on the constitution was held in 1987 and it was ratified.  How is that a hijacking of the sovereign will of the people?

The petitioner does not say. He simply makes baseless assertions and does not attempt to demonstrate the truth of said assertions.

Next:  

Our system of government cannot help us. It was designed to work against us. It cannot be harnessed to achieve real change. It is manipulated by the political opposition to prevent President Rodrigo Duterte from accomplishing his job. It is being used to oust him.

How was the 1987 constitution designed to work against the people?  How is the constitution being manipulated to impede Duterte from doing his job?  

The petitioner does not say.  

And finally:

The only way to bring order in our political system and be able to pursue a real change in our country is through a revolutionary government.

We want to initiate a campaign to mobilize the 21 million voters of the President so they can grant him revolutionary powers and do what Cory did. 

What is meant by "revolutionary government?"  What "revolutionary powers" are to be granted to Duterte?

What does the petitioner mean by "do what Cory did?"  Does he want Duterte to dismiss everyone in congress, dismiss duly elected officials throughout the country, and draft a new constitution?  That is the essence of dictatorship. What's the problem with the current constitution?

Again the petitioner does not say.  

There is nothing specific in this petition. There is no list of grievances and how to fix them. Filipinos are not happy with their government. They know they have been raked over the coals for far too long. Beyond encapsulating the current zeitgeist of discontent for the government this petition is worthless. 

This is less a petition and more an emotional outburst. 

There are 7,864 supporters who have signed this petition and the reasons given are not very hopeful and indicate the most have not given any real thought to the content of the petition.  Most just say "I support Duterte."  One signatory seems to have a firmer grasp on the issues at hand.

100% tax rate????  This person does not know what they are talking about. 

https://www.bir.gov.ph/index.php/tax-information/income-tax.html#it0012

I agree that the Philippines needs a revolution and a revolutionary government.  They can start with these very revolutionary words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

What the Philippines absolutely does not need is power consolidated in the hands of one man.  No people need a dictator. 

Like the rest of the world what the Philippines needs are statesmen who understand politics and the art of statecraft. Men who understand the people and their needs.  Filipinos who love their country and would pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour to serve it.  Not men who would use their office as a cloak for plundering the national treasury and enriching themselves. 

Politicians serving the people and not themselves?

Now that's a revolution everyone can get behind!