II.Our Senators: Law makers or law breakers?
One important contribution of the Mesopotamians, particularly King Hammurabi, is Law. Law is a set of rules that is imposed in a society. Law plays an important role in a society. A society uses law as the primary building blocks of that society. It gives a society a structure, and even the way we live is structured by law. We are affected by law in our daily lives. Law binds us together.
Philippines has law too. However, we have a different definition of law. Filipinos ignore the existence of law. Although they know that an act is forbidden and is punishable by law, they still do it. Law in the Philippines just serves as a suggestion. It is hard to accept that Filipinos disregard the importance of law here in the Philippines. But, it is even harder to accept the worse fact that our future law makers are one of the present violators of laws. Election laws, which are supposedly enforced strictly during campaign period, are violated by the candidates.
We can observe illegal campaign posters along streets and roads of Metro Manila. Metro Manila Development Authority, or MMDA, wants to halt the spread of these illegal campaign posters. These campaign posters just uglify Metro Manila. Comelec and MMDA have informed the candidates about the right size of campaign posters but still, many huge posters of candidates (especially senators) can be seen. Although the spread of these posters continues to worsen, MMDA is doing the best they can to stop the rapid scatter of illegal campaign posters.
Another example of violation of election laws is the case of Chavit Singson. Luis Chavit Singson, the current governor of Ilocos Sur and is running for senator, was accused of giving away money during a raffle in Misamis Occidental. He apologized last Monday, March 5, 2007, for what he has done. He said that he gave away money during a raffle draw because he might be teased to be a “KURIPOT” Ilocano if he does not dole out money. He said in an interview in ABS-CBN that he was not aware that it is illegal for candidates to give away cash prize during the election period. I was shocked with this statement. What he said just shows the lack of knowledge of some candidates about the law. How can someone who knows a little about law make a law for the country?
Giving away of cash prizes during campaign period is considered Vote-Buying. It is obviously a form of cheating and yet he said that he does know that what he has done is illegal. March 8, 2007, he claimed on an interview that he did not give away money. This shows a contradiction to what he has said earlier. He admitted and apologized because he gave away cash in Misamis Occidental and then, he claimed that he did not give away money. Dishonesty is shown in his two statements.
Senator is a crucial position. Senators play an important role in our country. They should have good morale and should serve as a role model to us. Ignorance of law is not an excuse. Let me ask you: Are these the kinds of leaders that can make our country better?
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