"That’s what the Duterte-Go relationship is."
"That’s what the Duterte-Go relationship is."
Most Filipinos interested in parliamentary democracy, whether as advocates or opponents, probably don't realize that they have, for some time now, been witnessing parliamentarism anew in the governance of this country. I say “anew” because the Philippines is no stranger to parliamentary democracy: the Malolos Congress established a parliament in 1898 and the 1973 Constitution provided for a parliament, which became the Batasang Pambansa.
The essence of the parliamentary system of government is, of course, the fusion of the Executive structure and the legislature into one body. There is no Executive Department and two legislative bodies; there is only the parliament. The parliamentary system is a Cabinet-run system. The Cabinet members are MPs (members of Parliament) and the Prime Minister is, among the Cabinet members, the primus inter pares.
Two high officials of the land have been giving Filipinos a fresh experience with parliament-type governance. They are President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher Go. Mr. Go is known by one and all as a close associate of the Chief Executive. Their association goes all the way back to Mr. Duterte's days as mayor of Davao City. When Mr. Duterte moved into the Presidency, Christopher Go was one of his first appointees—as Special Assistant to the President—and for his senatorial run Mr. Go received the firm support of his longtime boss.
The two men—former mayor and his former assistant—have been no less close since Christopher Go joined the legislative branch of the government. Senator Go is Mr. Duterte's man in the Senate.
Christopher Go continues to enjoy the full trust of the Chief Executive. Filipinos have come to accept that whatever the neophyte senator says on matters of governance and politics very probably reflects Mr. Duterte's thinking. Even though he is now a member of the legislature, Senator Go remains a regular visitor to Malacanang. The senator's visits have been more frequent during the present public health crisis.
This relationship between the Chief Executive and a member of the legislature is effectively a manifestation of parliamentary government. As in a parliament, a legislator and a member of the Executive Department regularly meet to consult with one another and exchange ideas. The Duterte-Go relationship is parliament at work.
The joinder of Executive and legislative in one body is in fact the most attractive feature of the parliamentary system of government. With the Cabinet members, the Senators and the Representatives joined in one body, there is no need for the legislators to find out Malacanang's positions on particular policy issues and no need for Executive Department officials to appear before Congressional hearings, e.g., the hearings on the Anti-Terrorism Act and the ABS-CBN franchise application. Legislative proposals can be made, debated and approved under one roof. The biggest beneficiary of a one-governing-body system of government will be the General Appropriations Act, whose enactment is an annual exercise in frustration and acrimony.
A mini-parliament within a Presidential system of government: that's what the Duterte-Go relationship is.
