Regional elections for the Senate?

May 20, 2007 5:29 PM | 60 Comments | No TrackBacks

I WONDER if anyone (besides me) has ever come with the idea of electing our senators on a per
region basis. The way I see it, we can elect 2 senators per region (not sure about the autonomous
ones, though). True, it would increase the number of senators we currently have, but I've been
thinking of several advantages to this system. For one, the Senate membership will truly be
representative of the entire country. As it stands now, majority of our senators are from Luzon,
with a sprinkling coming from the Visayas and Mindanao. This will give regions outside
Imperial Manila a chance to be adequately represented in the Senate. Second, it reduces the
expenses to be shouldered by the candidates, from the actual campaign to the number of
watchers they will require, as they would focus their resources in their specific regions rather
than the entire country. Less expenses might encourage more deserving but financiallyhandicapped candidates to come forth and throw their hats in the political arena. It would speed
up the canvassing of votes, as the winning candidates can be proclaimed on a regional level
rather than on a national level. This "might" also reduce the chances and the scope of dagdagbawas, making it easier to detect. In the United States, only the presidential/vice-presidential
race is conducted on a national level. Their senators are elected per state. It should make sense
that our senators also be elected at most on a regional level. It should make the candidates more
mindful of their constituents in their respective regions. Just my two centavos' worth...