Solon eyes fixed term for Arroyo

A Visayan congressman batted yesterday for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Arroyo to stay in power for six years ending in 2007.

Rep. Gerardo Espina Jr. (NPC, Biliran) said giving the President a fixed six-year term would enable her to concentrate on addressing pressing economic and political problems of the country.

"The critics of the President can no longer accuse her of campaigning for her election in 2004," Espina said during a weekly media forum in Quezon City.

The proposed amendment, which forms part of a package of Charter changes (Cha-cha) filed by Espina, stipulated that only senators, congressmen and local officials would be elected in 2004.

As proposed by Espina, presidential elections would be held in 2007, automatically giving the incumbent president a six-year term.

Mrs. Arroyo took over the presidency on Jan. 20 last year following the ouster of Joseph Estrada in a military-backed people’s uprising dubbed people power II.

To speed up ratification of the proposed Cha-cha, Espina recommended that both chambers of Congress transform themselves into a constituent assembly.

"Amendments of the 1987 Charter are long overdue. We all know the Charter has been defective and it’s now time that we correct these errors," he said.

Espina, who was a member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention (Concon), expressed optimism that the proposed amendments would take effect this year as some sectors and political leaders who were formerly anti-Cha-cha now support the move.

Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzales and Samar Rep. Antonio Nachura, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, who were also present at the Balitaan forum, said they favor the suggestions for Congress to transform itself into a constituent assembly for purposes of amending the Constitution.

House leaders pointed out that a constituent assembly is more practical and economical than electing delegates to a constitutional convention (con-con) which is being espoused by other political leaders.

However, Gonzales also said that a con-con would be very effective, adding that since it is an independent body, it has a life of its own and Congress has no control over it.

Conversely, the Con-con has control over Congress insofar as allocating budget for its operations is concerned, Gonzales said.

RP can have "Pinoy-style" parliament

Espina and Nachura said the Philippines can have what they called a "Pinoy-style" parliamentary form of government which is different from the British or other "First World models."

"We can have a parliament that is not patterned after the British or French systems. We can have a president who is both head of state and head of government, and a prime minister who will assist him or her in running the nation’s daily affairs," Espina said.

For his part, Nachura said the present presidential system can be modified by converting the two chambers of Congress into a unicameral body.

Pure parliamentary system has a ceremonial president who acts as head of state. The prime minister is the head of government.

Presidential systems usually have a Congress that is composed of two chambers. In the United States and the Philippines, these two chambers are the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Espina said under this modified parliamentary system, the parliament elects the prime minister from among its members, while the president is elected at large.

The president chooses the members of his Cabinet from the parliament, making them accountable to the people.

"There is fusion between the executive and legislative branches of government, making legislation and governance a more harmonious and less costly process," he said.

Actually, the Espina-envisioned government was the system the late President Ferdinand Marcos experimented with during his last years in office. Marcos had member of parliament Cesar Virata as both prime minister and finance minister.

Espina was part of the Marcos Cabinet.

Nachura also said the House is now going full steam in pushing for Cha-cha.

He said the chamber has approved Joint Resolution No. 8 which calls for the convening of barangay assemblies on Sept. 15 this year to discuss the Cha-cha issue.

Hopefully, the Senate would approve the resolution, he said.

Senators, however, were not dancing the Cha-cha, with Senate President Franklin Drilon saying the issue is not on the chamber’s agenda.

A senator, who requested anonymity, said he and his colleagues would not agree to signing their own death warrant since Cha-cha envisions a legislature without a Senate.

‘Forget 2004 first’

Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara advised Mrs. Arroyo and other presidential hopefuls to forget about 2004 and focus on solving the country’s pressing problems.

"If she cannot do a good job between now and 2003, she might as well forget about 2004. If she does a good job, she will have a big chance of winning. It is simple as that," Angara said.

He said the Arroyo administration’s pre-occupation with politics has set aside the bigger problems of the country, primarily mass poverty and underdevelopment of the countryside.

"There is no big picture and there are no concrete programs at the ground level," Angara said.

"Let us learn from the lessons of Thailand. It was an ASEAN country hardest hit by the financial crisis in 1997. Yet there were no protests on the streets. The key was cheap and ample food supply," he pointed out.

In a related development, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza vigorously opposed moves to change the Constitution, saying "good and effective governance is the only key to unlocking the solutions to the country’s problems."

Atienza said the government should prioritize programs aimed at jump-starting the economy and alleviating poverty, instead of wasting time and money on counterproductive plans such as Cha-cha.

"What we need right now is to unite," Atienza said, adding that the Cha-cha issue is divisive.

He urged the people to oppose the Cha-cha.

Percival Floirendo, Sangguniang Kabataan representative to the Manila City Council, said changing the Constitution should be the least among the priorities of the administration. — With reports from Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe