Remulla slams political turncoats, calls for shift to ‘representative democracy’
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla expressed the need for the practice of political turncoatism in the country to be stopped, stressing the need for parties to become more tight knit and for politicians to be more consistent with their principles.
Remulla said that it had been common for those running for national and local posts to switch to political parties based on the banner that the presidential candidate they were rooting for was under.
He said that the country had to work on strengthening its institution and consider shifting to a “representative democracy” where people vote candidates based on who enact laws and set policies that follow their own principles.
“We create cult figures, we create people that we look up to that we idolize blindly. But they’re just people. So it’s the institution that has to be stronger,” Remulla said during his radio program on DZRH over the weekend.
“The parties must be stronger and there must be no more political turncoats,” he added.
Citing examples to support his claim, the Ombudsman pointed to Partido Federal ng Pilipinas and PDP-Laban, noting that most of the party’s candidates were previously from coalitions like the Liberal Party and Lakas-CMD.
Remulla stated that politicians had grown accustomed to leaving their parties and joining established or creating their own coalitions whenever they lost in a particular election cycle.
“There’s no more principles, no more,” he expressed.
Aside from questioning the motives of political candidates, Remulla said that there was also a pressing need in changing the system of the Commission on Elections which he said had grown to be “greedy” when it came to funds.
He argued that a runoff election would be more favorable given the ease to conduct such polls.
The Ombudsman also challenged the requirements needed to run for public office, noting that the simple standard of “being able to read and write” should be “leveled up” to some regard.
Remulla said that the requirement for candidates should be raised to at least those that finished high school given the massive responsibility placed on individuals in national posts.
Prior to being tasked with the role of Ombudsman and his prior stint as secretary of the Department of Justice, Remulla served three separate terms as a representative of the 3rd and 7th Districts of Cavite between 2004 to 2022.
He was also elected as the Governor of Cavite in 2016, serving the post until his eventual re-election into Congress in 2019.
During his political career, the Ombudsman was a member of the National Unity Party along with his brother Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.