Aside from the Hayden Kho Jr. – Katrina Halili et.al sex scandals, another hotly debated issue today, not only by the bureaucrats, but practically by every stakeholder in the country is the House Resolution (HR) 1109 which aims to amend or revise the present 1987 Constitution.
For several years now, the question on whether or not the country needs Charter Change (Cha-Cha) has been on and off in the political arena. Even before the term of the former President Fidel V. Ramos ended in 1998, talks about Cha-Cha had already begun. It was awakened when Joseph Estrada became president, but he was ousted before the plan prospered.
When the current president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA), took over Estrada’s position in 2001 and governed the country until 2004, Cha-Cha was revived again. After serving a four-year-term, she ran and won the presidency that gave her another term of six years. Since then, different proposals of Cha-Cha were introduced in Congress but none of those has ever succeeded yet.
Just recently, another proposal for Cha-Cha, courtesy of HR 1109, is again making noise. The controversial resolution, passed by the allies of PGMA in the House of Representatives, gained the approval of the 14th Congress during its regular session on June 2 despite objections from the opposition.
Unlike the rest, this latest addition to the attempts of changing the constitution has gotten its mode through the Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), a requirement before changes in the present Constitution can be considered by the members of Congress.
Now that the controversial HR 1109 has been approved, it gives power to the Congress to convene into Con-Ass wherein both the House of Representatives and the Senate would vote jointly to consider amendments or revisions in the current Constitution upon a vote of three-fourths of all the members of Congress.
This setup, pushed by the House of Representatives, caused the senators to react saying the representatives can easily outnumber them in the House membership which makes the Senate inutile because any objections they might raise is considered useless without the support of the majority of the members of Congress.
In an Inquirer.net report, lawmakers, especially from the opposition, aired their vehement opposition to the issue. Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Teodoro Casiño said that HR 1109 opens the entire Constitution to amendments that may lead to PGMA’s term extension as well as other politicians to stay in power beyond 2010. While Gabriela Partylist Representative Luzviminda Ilagan believes that the allies of the administration in the lower house used their numbers to forward their agenda.
On the contrary, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile just shrugged off when he responded to the issue. He was confident that the move of House of Representatives will be useless without the senate.
Despite the importance of the issue, many citizens just frown or do not care to comment at all because most of them are not enlightened as to what is the issue really about—after all, con-ass is packed with political jargons.
Inside the premises of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), the students and administrators alike are not hindered by this political language. They express their views on this huge national issue that concerns every Filipino.
According to University President Henry A. Sojor, Con-Ass is unconstitutional because the present setting of the Philippine Congress is bicameral. “…it is bicameral, therefore any action of the Congress must be of the two houses,” Sojor opined. “And if there will be another interpretation of that, just to accommodate a group’s interest or a personal interest, then that will be absurd,” he continued.
On the other hand, the university president stressed that he is in favor of amending the constitution “because there are some provisions in the 1987 Constitution which are very verbose”.
He added that there are also provisions in the present Constitution that need to be relevant to the present time “…even in the field of education, even in the field of business and economics, there are certain provisions that will have to be amended,” he shared.
Sojor, however, stressed that any amendment of the Constitution “should be done after 2010 and it has to be done on the first year immediately after election”. He even cited the three-year-term for local officials, which is too short for him, as an example. “Imagine on the first year you will still learn the ropes of leadership, then on the second year, you will work, on the third year, politics because it is campaign time again.” he stated.
“So, if I have my own way, I would like to minimize the number of elections for local officials…you will have five years with one re-election so you still have 10 years,” Sojor said.
Two new law graduates from the College of Law of NORSU Bais Campus Carlito Mascardo Jr. and Zilbert Andaya agreed with Sojor, that what the representatives are pushing is unconstitutional because the Congress is in a bicameral setting. They opined that both houses of Congress should be present during the deliberation of Cha-Cha. Also, they do not favor Con-Ass because they think it is very untimely, especially that presidential election is coming.
For Student Affairs Office (SAO) Director William Aranas, Con-Ass is mere foolishness. He believes that this is just another move of PGMA to put the nation into trouble. He even considered the move to change the constitution more dangerous than influenza A (H1N1) virus.
He also believes that Cha-Cha will not succeed “because people do not like it”. The SAO director added: “There is no need to change the Constitution.”
But the President-elect of the Student Government of Dumaguete City I Christopher Don Catacutan opposed this statement of Aranas. Catacutan said he is in favor of Cha-Cha if it is for the good of the country. He said he wants a new president and a new Constitution so that everything will be new.
Some other students also shared their opinions on the issue. A graduating Bachelor of Science (BS) in Criminology student Ernie Acabal said he is not in favor of Con-Ass as well as extending PGMA’s term. He asserted that there should be an election in 2010 so that the youth’s effort of registering themselves will not be wasted. He was echoed by Sheena Torres, also a graduating student taking up AB Mass Communication, who said that as a first time voter she would like to exercise her right to suffrage come May 2010 elections. She is also in favor of Cha-Cha, but like Sojor, she stressed that it should be done after PGMA’s term of office on June 30, 2010.
A group of senior BS Secondary Education students chorused that what must be changed is not the constitution or the form of government, but the attitude of the people who run the government. The future educators agreed that no matter what the Constitution is, if the politicians are still corrupt, it will be useless.
Like the rest of the Norsunians, they are not in favor of Con-Ass either. The group agreed with Aranas that it is more dangerous than A (H1N1). They opined that politicians who are pushing for Con-Ass have hidden agenda.
As of press time, there is no clear vision yet if this latest proposal to change the current Constitution will be pushed through. Several street protests opposing Con-Ass have been held across the country. And as early as now, various sectors have already laid their plans of staging huge street protests if this issue on Cha-Cha continues.
Senators have also joined in some rallies to show their support to the people who are against Con-Ass. Moreover, these left and right protests can be seen not only in the streets but also on the net. The “Stop Con-Ass Now Movement” has even reached the fast growing social networking community of Facebook.com.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that as of June 20, the said movement in Facebook already has a whooping member of almost 75, 000 while the numbers keep growing everyday. Some of them have even met personally to express their seriousness on their call to stop Con-Ass.
There were even petitions seeking to stop HR 1109 filed by Atty. Oliver Lozano et.al but the Supreme Court earlier junked it saying the petitions were premature and lacked in form and substance.
The sponsors of the resolution highlighted that the purpose of HR 1109 is for the high court to resolve the justiciable controversy whether the Congress should vote jointly or separately in amending or revising the Constitution.
It is also stated in the “whereas clauses” of HR 1109 that there shall be no term extension for the president, vice president and all other elected officials, and that there will be an election in 2010, but many political analysts and critics are still doubtful if these “clauses” will be followed.
The senators, however, are confident that the resolution approved by the lower house is useless because there is no time left for them to change the Constitution. Also, the senators believed that it will be difficult for the House of Representatives to convene into Con-Ass without the participation of the Senate.
Amidst everything that is happening now in the world of politics; amidst all these rallies and criticisms from the business sector, church, students, and other stakeholders, everything remains uncertain. In this university, though the Norsunian community remains calm amid the issue, their oppositions paralleling to the noisy protests held everywhere in the country as well as the youths’ desire to vote first time in the upcoming elections, is a clear indication that the people do not yet consider Cha-Cha at this time. Maybe, just maybe, after the 2010 elections.
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