GOV. Erico Aumentado is bullish for the parliamentary-unicameral form of government. “Although in the end it is up to the people to decide, they must be provided with information so that they will come up with an informed decision,” the Bohol governor said during his weekly program The Governor Reports aired live over all radio stations in Bohol.

This was also Aumentado's message during a forum Wednesday morning at the University of Bohol (UB) Research and Information Center organized by university president and former Gov. David Tirol, with former University of the Philippines president Jose Abueva as resource speaker. It was also his line during the Cuentas Claras program yesterday morning at dyTR as urged the citizenry to go to their respective barangay halls to attend the synchronized barangay assemblies nationwide.

“Today is historic, because the barangays will take up charter change; the people will decide if they will endorse the clamor of the Sigaw ng Bayan, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and other labor unions, people's organizations and others, through a people's initiative,” Aumentado yesterday said. “This is the advocacy of the governors and Ulap: support chacha by organizing public discussion for the people to come up with the correct decision,” he said. Aumentado heads the 79-strong League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and the 1.7-million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap).

The governor said he used to be silent on the issue until the opposition, the rightists and the leftists joined hands in destabilizing the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by staging rallies in imperial Metro Manila. “Since after President Marcos of Ilocandia was replaced by President Aquino, there has been a series of people power. This is because the 1987 Constitution allowed the multi-party system that resulted into the winning president's getting only a plurality – not the majority of votes,” Aumentado observed.

The multi-party system virtually paved the way for the high cost of campaigning because a candidate has to contend with more opponents. “To be a credible candidate for president, one needs some P2 billion to bankroll the campaign. I know a former senator who spent P300 million just to get his seat back but he lost anyway,” he said. “When I ran for board member who were elected at large yet in the 1967 elections, I spent only P5,000. I spent only P12,500 for my reelection bid. But when I first ran for governor under the multi-party system, I grew bald because of the cost,” Aumentado said in jest – in the dialect. Just imagine the cost for the national candidates who have to contend with contenders from the party-list, he added.

The senators may be against a parliamentary unicameral form of government because the Upper House stands to be dissolved – along with the supposed check and balance.

“The fear is not theirs alone; the Lower House will also be dissolved. With only one House – we will do away with gridlocks. Besides, the senators whose mandate is supposed to be policy- or lawmaking now use up their time conducting investigations, making them ineffective,” Aumentado said. Because of the many candidates, even an actor gets elected because of his popularity. “Take the case of Sen. Agimat [Ramon Revilla, Pinoy filmdom's superhero]. I worked hard to push for the conversion of several provincial roads into national roads. But when he was to sponsor the equivalent bill in the Senate, he was a no-show,” Aumentado lamented.

In the unicameral form, the executive and legislative departments are fused hence it is easier to implement laws – unlike before when there had to be tradeoffs in the form of pork barrel funds. “Believe me, because I was in Congress for nine years,” he said. The parliamentary form of government also does away with coups, rallies and marches. All the parliament needs to do is give the prime minister a vote of no confidence. The prime minister steps down, and parliament votes in a replacement.