Face to face

After grueling Concom consultations with different groups in the south, I came away informed and educated — Filipinos in the provinces were not as politically unaware as I had imagined. Moreover, the cities of Cebu, Iloilo and Davao have indeed changed through the years from the time I visited them some ten or so years ago. Maybe it was the images, or more correctly the cobwebs in my mind that had changed but this is a good perspective to report on how the consultations went. We faced audiences that were altogether very informed about charter change. They asked questions, both trivial and significant. What was clear to me was here were inquiring minds, dissatisfied with the current state of the nation and all hungry for answers.

The Concom consultations began in Cebu as the common point after which we separated into three teams — Team A moving on to Zamboanga, Palawan, Team B (where I was assigned) to Iloilo and Davao and Team C to Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro. The audiences were anywhere from a high of about 3,000 in Cebu, and as far as our team was concerned, a little less but just as formidable, in Iloilo and Davao. We concentrated on three areas for dialogue and discussion: form of government (proposal for a shift from the presidential system of government to parliamentary); structure of the republic (from unitary to federal) and amendments to economic provisions that would focus on making the country competitive in a globalized environment.

Of the three places we visited, Cebu was my favorite. The audiences reflected the vibrancy, forward looking and dynamic tempo of the city. Unfortunately I saw little of the city itself as we were ensconced in the hotel most of the day conducting the workshops. Never mind. There were other ways of getting to know its wealth-making export industries. Right in the hotel, one can see the number of tourists coming directly here from other countries — Japanese, Koreans and some Europeans. Manila, it seemed was no longer de rigueur. It was full house at the Waterfront Hotel where we stayed with visitors coming to and fro all day and night. The food was good (at least the breakfast, I did not try other meals as we were treated to a dinner invitation by Concom colleague former Governor Pablo Garcia and his daughter, Governor Gwen). The hotel had the basic requirements of modern billeting comparable to hotels in Manila and elsewhere in Asia.

The consultations began with an invocation followed by the national anthem. (Some of my colleagues were grumbling this was not the right way to begin an official function: the national anthem comes first). Lapu-Lapu may have killed Magellan and the religious conquest he symbolized when he first came but that heroic act ended there. That is why we had a invocation instead of the anthem first. Before the consultations proper we had a press conference to give a gist of what the Concom wished to convey, aware that media would be an important vehicle to spread the word. After the press conference we had a short plenary in which we were introduced to the audience. In turn, the members of the audience were also introduced to us. This was followed by a general question and answer session on the Concom itself – was it a rubber stamp, how come only prominent figures were appointed, what is the time frame of its work, etc., etc.

The core of the consultations was the workshop when the audience was divided into three groups. I do not wish to preempt reports by other members of the group. Let me just say that the overwhelming sentiment of the consultations was in favor of charter change — we could not go on with what we have now whatever you want to call it, presidential or whatever. They also were prepared to admit there would be no guarantee of successful parliamentarism but we could try. The Cebuanos would go for a parliamentary government, a phased transition to a federal structure and for liberalization of the economy with some reservations.

The results were slightly different in Iloilo and Davao which were strong bailiwicks of the movement for federalism. The tenor of the consensus there was that if we should shift to parliamentary, we must also shift to federalism. On liberalization, the Ilonggos and Davaoenos were also more conservative and were still unsure whether to go for it. My own take is that while Cebu was flourishing as a trading entrepot, Iloilo and Davao were still stuck in oligarchic plantations. It may be that they are conservative but it could also be said that they were still in the throes of the dominance of land oligarchy. The matter of indigenous lands is a separate matter and should not fudge the issue. It may be that the masses there or even the middle class think that Filipino ownership of land equals benefits to them even if oligarchs and not they who own the lands.

Admittedly I was in form of government consultations, not in the liberalization of the economic provisions of the Constitution but there was enough to go by with the bits and pieces I gathered from those who were in the group themselves. Whatever will happen to these face to face consultations with the Filipino public, as one of my colleagues whispered to me — this can be the template of future consultations on other issues in the future.

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On a personal matter, I was pleasantly surprised to meet someone who responded to a call for consultations through this column. Ramon Jalipa of [email protected] came up to introduce himself to me in Cebu. Among the papers I brought with me to these consultations was an email from him that I had just received before coming. It was good to meet with him face to face. Here’s what he said in his email:

"The seemingly endless political squabble and bickering that has wracked this nation and that has turned one of our legislative institutions – the Senate – into a runaway train of economic sabotage and demolition, has provided a convincing proof of the urgency for junking and replacing the dysfunctional and obsolete unitary/presidential system. Without doubt, the ongoing political charade – which came about from manufactured allegations using dubious and inadmissible evidence – is an offshoot of the structural defects inherent in the unitary/presidential system of government…

…The parliamentary system will enable the Philippine economy to compete more effectively not only in the region but also in the world as it would be much easier and quicker to craft laws and regulations to respond to the changing demands of the market place. With the surging tide of economic expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. the parliamentary system will enable our economy to navigate more effectively the currents and swill of the market and not let this country stall and be left behind by the rising boats of our neighbors." Well said, Ramon. Good to have met you.

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My e-mail is [email protected]