Walang College degree, bawal tumakbo bilang MP?

From Ellen Tordesillas:

Nakasama rin sa rekomendasyon nina Abueva na college graduate lang ang maaring maging miyembro ng parliament kung saan manggagaling ang president at prime minister.

Kahit na alam ko ang kahalagaan ng edukasyon, parang hindi ko yata gusto itong lilimitahan mo ang gustong maging lider ng bansa sa college graduate. Sa akin kasi, hindi college diploma ang batayan ng pagiging maging lider.

Katulad na lang ngayon. College graduate ang nakaupo sa Malacañang, mandaraya, sinungaling at magnanakaw naman.

How about kung bawal ang mga mandaraya, sinungaling at magnanakaw na tumakbo bilang MP?

I think that's a better requirement.

UPDATE: But seriously, this is the kind of fake reforms na hindi ko gusto. Bawal ang walang college degree? Kung ganyan ang Constitution sa US, eh di people like Bill Gates would be disqualified from running for office.

Besides, I don't think most Filipinos can afford a college education for their kids anymore in the future.

Yes, importante ang edukasyon at qualifications ng isang candidate, and those are some of the factors I take into consideration when choosing a candidate. (And yes, I did not vote for Erap or FPJ in 1998 and 2004.) But in the end, it's who the people want to lead them that's important. Putting unnecessary and artificial restrictions on who they can vote for is just plain retarded.

(I've also heard a similar proposal para sa Cha-cha where we should disallow voters who do not pay taxes [read: masa, poor people] from voting. Elitist talaga ano?)

UPDATE: More from de Quiros:

The notion that that would only bring us to where we were, ignorant voters voting for the "wrong" candidate, is a dangerous one. The day we start thinking of the citizens as being stupid, as being unprepared to chart their own future, is the day we lay out the welcome mat to dictatorship. It is exactly the same argument our colonial masters used against us, saying they had a right to keep us in bondage because we were unprepared to be free, we needed tutelage. It is exactly the same argument sexists and bigots use against women and people of color, saying they may not be given equal rights because they are unprepared for equality, they still need time. The only thing worse than voters voting "wrongly" is that they are not allowed to vote. Or have their vote stolen from them. That is why we are where we are today.

And if you ask me, who is more experienced, competent and qualified to run for president -- Cory Aquino with her college degree, or Joseph Estrada, a college dropout? If you're talking about experience and competency alone, then between Erap and Cory, Erap is the more qualified candidate, because the guy was a public official for many years (mayor, Senator and VP).

And if you're talking about moral fitness naman, who's more trustworthy and less corrupt, and the choice is between Erap and GMA, I think it is safe to say na after experiencing five years of post-Edsa Dos hell under GMA, I think a majority of Filipinos would say na mas corrupt at less competent si GMA kaysa kay Erap.

Because we are worse off now than we were 5 years ago.