Cory opposes Charter amendments before 2004 polls

Former President Corazon Aquino has expressed her opposition to amending the 1987 Constitution before the 2004 elections.

Lourdes Siytangco, Mrs. Aquino’s spokeswoman, told The STAR yesterday that Mrs. Aquino is amenable to proposals of a Charter change (Cha-cha), but not during this administration.

"The primary task at the moment should be preparing the grounds that will lead to a thorough discussion and rigorous debate for the eventual amending of the Constitution after the 2004 elections," Siytangco said, quoting the former president.

The Constitution was crafted in 1986 and was ratified in 1987 through a referendum.

Mrs. Aquino served from 1986 to 1992, running the six-year term limit as prescribed by the Constitution, and did not seek reelection.

Mrs. Aquino’s opinion reflected the position of several parties, including President Arroyo who has categorically stated that any attempt to amend the Constitution must take place only after the 2004 elections.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier said that she welcomed the debates on Cha-cha, but these should in no way interfere with the holding of the 2004 elections.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. openly pushed for the amendment of the Constitution to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government.

De Venecia was quoted as saying that the change in the form of government would dispel the coup attempts that have plagued the present and previous administrations.

However, De Venecia later clarified that his campaign for a constitutional convention should only take place after the 2004 elections.

Critics of the Arroyo administration raised suspicions that De Venecia’s pronouncements were part of the attempts to stop the holding of the 2004 presidential elections because of the dip in Mrs. Arroyo’s popularity.

However, Mrs. Arroyo declared that she would no longer run for office in 2004 in order to concentrate on delivering her commitments to the country during her last 18 months as President.

Even civil society groups have expressed their support for discussions about Cha-cha, but only after the elections.

Council on Philippine Affairs chairman William Esposo said they are willing to take part in the process of amending the Charter after a new president has been elected in 2004.

He said that the proper way to go about this would be to announce the plan now and conduct a poll after the elections "so that no one would be cheated."