Wow, mali! (With apologies to Joey de Leon)

Wow! From the magical wand of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo comes forth a "consultative commission". If we were to believe the news coming from Malacañang, it looks like this novel presidential creation is some kind of an assembly that shall be consulted on what amendments may be wrought on our constitution.

"Consultative"? Aha, this is a lesson from the past. When Pres. Ferdinand Marcos was in power, he placated people's anxiety on some controversial issues by calling for a "referendum". It was a legal cover. Each time his action was questioned, the Supreme Court would find nothing wrong in it because he was just "feeling the pulse of the public". In a manner of speaking, he was just consulting the citizenry.

The consultative commission, but for its size, is no different in concept from the "referendum" of the past. Our president adopts the term consultative to show that this small group of admittedly wise men, mainly politicians, will just serve as the vibrant "pulse of the public" and at most, function as an eternal fountain of lofty constitutional ideas. It may draft a model constitution for the president to savor and perhaps, for everyone to behold but like the referendum of the past, that's just about it - useless instrument.

Mali, number 1. The consultative commission will have to organize itself to achieve something. There may be a chairperson over the whole proceedings and several committees to pen an ideal constitution. Of course, a sizeable force of secretariat and other personnel shall be put together. Let us assume that the commission members (I hate the word commissioner because like the one attached to Garcillano, it has attained a stained meaning) will do the most patriotic act. Knowing that our country is in an economic bind, they will serve gratis et amore. But, even if they will not collect any remuneration, there will be entailed humongous organizational expenses to make. Who will pay? Will the monetary outlay be provided by the same nebulous and faceless individuals who allegedly funded the Venable LLP contract?

Mali, number 2. I am sure that the Office of the President, like the other departments of the government, has its own tremendous share of the national budget. Yet, it is fundamental that no expense may be made on something that is not defined in the budgetary act. I am equally certain that there is not a single centavo allocated for "consultative commission" in the current national outlay. This assembly owes its existence to some recent magic it could not have anticipated when our legislature prepared the budget. So, should the president spend anything on the commission from her official purse, her act suffers the character of technical malversation.

Mali, number 3. Our constitution, as we profess to know, provides for ways of amending it. A charter change may be done via a constitutional convention or through a constituent assembly. It is important to note that either way, it starts off as a legislative measure and as such, it lies beyond the domain of executive prerogative. Precisely, there is no mention of any constitutional amendment work being made by a "consultative commission" created by a sitting president. We can not rely on the Constitutional Commission assembled in the early days of the regime of Pres. Corazon Aquino as a precedent because hers, at that time, was a form of revolutionary government. In other words, Pres. Arroyo by pretending simply to listen to "the pulse of the public" via the "consultative commission" but actually initiating charter change, treads on a ground that is constitutionally infirmed.

The worst mali. Pres. Arroyo, emboldened by her "knock-out" victory in the initial impeachment stage, knows that what she is doing is likely to divide the country further. But, she does not care because while the pollsters reported that a certain majority of ordinary citizens do not feel the timeliness of a charter change, her warlords continue to lick her boots. What matters to her is that her henchmen will follow her orders rather than the spirit of the constitution. That's her game plan. As she controls the political demi-gods of many regions, she should push for the division of our people and, consequently, ensure her rule. Cute, but, mali.