Why rush Charter Change now?

Is Chacha really what our country needs now? Will a shift from Presidential to Parliamentary system really result in better government for this country?

Every Filipino knows that for as long as the corrupt and dishonest officials stay in power, this country will not change. It is not the system that needs changing. This country needs to change the corrupt and dishonest among the present politicians.

There are other pressing issues far important than Chacha. Food, jobs, decent wages, education, other health and welfare services, or even basic needs like water and sanitation need to be addressed more than ever now by local and national officials.

But what do the insincere among them busy themselves with? How to stay longer in power and wealth. The insincere among them see their chance for staying longer in power and wealth through the Chacha, that is, if the no election ( NOEL) provision is allowed as part of the Chacha amendments.

Why do we need so many politicians? Why don't we abolish those who love pork barrel and those who love to muddy themselves in dirty politics? Who are these who act like pigs among our present politicians? Ah, but their name is legion.

What else are being proposed by the Chacha apart from the change in the form of government? Is anyone looking at the Parity Rights provision, that very important issue that protects Philippine patrimony against foreign ownership and control?

A very important reason why we are experiencing hell in our country is the persistence of inequality among our people, a system encouraged by the ownership and control of this country's resources by a few who control power and wealth and policy and decision making.

What will the proposed Chacha do to this important provision of the protection of Philippine resources for Filipinos?

Are our people properly informed about the proposed charter changes? Why the rush to have our people sign the Chacha without benefit of effective information drive and lengthy, reflective discussions about the Chacha?

Are the barangay assemblies intended to have informed Filipinos decide and sign for what they think is needed by this country related to the charter? Or are the barangay assemblies intended to rush the gathering of uninformed signatures, large enough to convince the Supreme Court about the merit of a people's referendum, rather than the Senate, to ratify Chacha?

Why the rush? Who is to profit from such a rush?

One answer is clear and obvious. The Senate now continues to pose a clear and present danger to those who wish to usurp power. The Senate and some House Representatives continue to challenge those whose legitimacy to rule are questionable or those whose transactions of public funds lack transparency and honesty. Should Chacha be approved through signatures ( no distinction between the truly informed and truly uninformed) of millions of Filipinos through the barangays, then it is goodbye to genuine fiscalizers among our senators and representatives.

Who will check the authenticity of the signatures of the barangay constituents and the legitimacy of the procedures of the present people's referendum? The same people questioned for their honesty and moral ascendancy since the last 2004 elections. Can our people trust those who ran the questionable 2004 elections to authenticate the legitimacy and honesty of the present people's referendum on the Chacha?

Goodness, what ever do these power-hungry think of us, the Filipino people? That votes and signatures can always be bought, that integrity and honesty vanish upon the sight of money, and that there are only the corrupt and the dishonest left among our people?

The present operators rushing the Chacha in all barangays are the same ones who controlled the last elections. These are the same cabal who have redefined the meaning of the rule of law into the rule of numbers. These are the same power-clutching batch who have used up and continue to spend public funds without accountability, who rig elections, buy votes, and are interpreting the Constitution in their own way, who are making judgments beyond the courts and justices, and who are depriving our people our right and freedom of speech, press, and assembly.

These are the power-hungry who want to rush the Chacha, no matter the costs or manner. And we, the Filipino people, will allow them to do so?

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