Courageous speech

For many Filipinos who want serious political reform, newly- elected President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation speech last Monday should be warmly welcomed. Remember we are talking about a speech, not its implementation which is still to be proven in the coming days or its motivation which, being a matter of conscience, only she could know.

In a sense the state of the nation speech is a ritual, much like an after dinner speech which is nothing more than a polite exchange between host and honoree. In themselves, words are meaningless until they propel people into action. The President understood that limitation and the possibility that her initiatives will be mired in fruitless discussions. After everything was said, she made a call to action "Let’s do it". The question we must ask ourselves is whether the ritual was effectively carried out: Whether the president, as leader of a nation, spelled out what she considers to be the priorities of her administration. She did.

The undisputed centerpiece of her state of the nation message was the President’s statement on charter change. That is why it received a standing and prolonged ovation. If you were physically present at the Batasan, it was the only point in the speech when there was a shared feeling between the President and the audience in a capacity-filled hall. The applause was the news because it refutes widespread disinformation that charter change is not popular. This does not mean it does not have opponents. It has. That is what a democracy is about. There will always be differences of opinion. The trouble is, for too long, those against it have hogged the field, cleverly planted insults and personal attacks in media to drown out those who have dared to advocate it. The President’s speech was courageous. She went through the fire and brought the audience with her because of its boldness and unexpectedness.

I have said it more than once in this column and I say it again: Charter change is a cause around which the country can unite. Why? Because it is the necessary foundation of all other reforms. Without it, any other reform will ultimately fail sooner than later if we maintain the present system.

Here the opposition can play a significant and intelligent role. I know some of them who understand the importance of constitutional reform. It would be unfortunate if they are held down by partisan interests and would not want to sound like the echo of the President and the party in power. But with increasing public consensus on charter change, it may dally too long and miss the chance for a crucial and historical role to shape the nation.

I address this message to Senators Edgardo Angara, Aquilino Pimentel and Juan Ponce Enrile who have championed charter change at one time or another. If they get their act together and put themselves behind this national effort then they will bring new life to the Opposition after the debacle of the May elections. From it they can pick the pieces that can make the difference in a future political contest. It is unfortunate that the naysayers, those vehemently against constitutional reform, are in fact administration senators. That is where strong resistance against charter change is coming from.

The Lower House, for all the faults of some members, have remained steadfast in espousing charter change without sacrificing its duty to pass the necessary social and economic bills. They did this under the leadership of Jose de Venecia who, by the way, won an overwhelming vote to become Speaker of the House for the fourth time – a milestone in history. The feat speaks for itself. He has been able to bring even the rowdy Leftists around. Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran affirmed his membership in the majority bloc in the House of Representatives and threw his support behind the speakership of JDV, though he was quick to add this does not necessarily mean he is an ally of Malacañang. He said there were no hidden strings to continue being part of the majority. "Speaker de Venecia knows if I continue to support his leadership, it’s because he also supports the party-list system and respects the stand of the more militant and outspoken representatives from the party-list groups," he said. This was proven in the 12th Congress and "it survived well-enough".

JDV’s adept management of Congress of more than 200 widely differing personalities deserves to be praised. He has done his duty well in sheperding the motley lawmakers to tackle and pass important bills to run this country. It cannot be said the same for the Senate president. On the contrary vital social and economic bills passed in the House were subsequently blocked or made to languish in the Senate. Yet the public is made to believe that it is the House, not the Senate, which is reprehensible for wanting charter change. Indeed, the Senate President has the effrontery to claim he wants Congress to devote its time to economic problems rather than Charter change despite a dismal record in the 12th Congress. If this is not fooling the people, what is?

The President’s words on Charter change, coming at the end of her speech, were: "Once we have proved to our people that we’ve done what we can within the present structure of government, we can move on to changing the system to one that enhances our freedom and flexibility to do more." It is not much to go by. Observe the caveat – recourse to Charter change will only come after "we have proved what can be done under the present structure". This is a classic example of chicken or egg dilemma. But it was enough to bring the house down because no Chief Executive before her would have dared say anything like that. That’s how strong the forces against change have held sway in this country.

To skeptics who have continuously attacked Charter change because it will not change us, I have this to day. Nothing, not even religion, which is supposed to preoccupy itself with making people good and moral can claim that it has or can achieve that even in thousands of years. Proponents of Charter change do not claim it will make saints out of politicians. What it will do is correct defects in the present system that have made this country the laggard in the region – expensive, cumbersome elections, an overly centralized administration, legislative gridlock, In a way President GMA gave a seamless speech – starting with a defense of her decision to save the life of Angelo de la Cruz by pulling out the Philippine contingent before time and ending with a commitment to Charter change. These are brave points of departure – small steps – but if fulfilled, will finally move us forward.

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