Cha-cha initiative coming to a head

Shh, don’t look now, but that politician’s gambler-spouse who just walked by stealthily is lobbying in Malacañang to replace the embattled BIR chief. If that happens, expect the headline to be "Sabungero is new tax collector", with the subhead "Impeachment averted".

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Sen. Miriam Santiago is egging colleagues with presidential dreams to admit so – to put in perspective their hostility to a switch to unicameral-parliament. No one has yet picked up her challenge. It’s too early to declare a bid for 2010 and thereby risk brickbats from contenders. The best senators can do today is posture for reelection in 2007 or, in case of combined ouster of the President and Vice President, for special elections for both positions.

Strong prospects of parliamentary shift can change the Senate mood, though. For one, it will put Sen. Manuel Villar in the lead to become Prime Minister by 2007. As opposition Rep. Jacinto Paras assesses, the ex-Speaker and soon-to-be Senate President "can play a unifying role" in a new form of government. A lot still depends on Franklin Drilon’s handover of the Senate Presidency under a gentleman’s agreement. And there’s coalition-builder Speaker Jose de Venecia to contend with. But a tilt by Villar to the side of parliament switch could send other senators joining with similar aims for Prime Minister.

Villar would be up against the younger league, of course. There are Senators Mar Roxas and Francis Pangilinan to vie for Prime Minister too. An opposition victory in the 2007 legislative elections also opens the door to leaders like Francis Escudero, a long-time advocate of Charter change.

Parliament hinges on the Supreme Court. A people’s initiative by Sigaw ng Bayan has so far gathered seven million signatures for a shift. Election officers have verified a minimum three percent required from 198 districts, with only 15 to go. If the Comelec schedules a plebiscite on the proposition, opponents of constitutional change will run to the Tribunal for a halt. If the Comelec does nothing, it’s Sigaw that would push for a judicial opinion.

The Court had ruled 8-7 in 1997 that the Initiative and Recall Law is inadequate to propose Charter amendments. On motion to reconsider, it voted 6-6, thus retaining the original judgment. The slim margins give Charter-change advocates hope of a reversal. Besides, all the justices who nixed the law have since retired. Only two of the pro-initiative remain, and they happen to be the most senior: Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and Justice Reynato Puno. Reversal of the previous opinion would pave the way for a plebiscite. Supported overwhelmingly by mayors and governors, parliamentary has a good chance of winning. More so since a second wave of Charter change by an interim Parliament promises them and business leaders a federal structure and economic liberalization.

Presidential dreams transforming into Prime Minister meanwhile can melt senators’ resistance to parliament. This paves the way for a constituent assembly with congressmen to push the tripod of reforms: parliament-federal-liberalization. No longer would senators risk criticism of clinging to bicameral for their pork of P1.2 billion per six-year term. No longer would 180 pro-Charter reform congressmen have to go to the Supreme Court for a ruling if they can go for it without the Senate. In a united congressional revision of the Constitution, chances of plebiscite victory all the more emerge.

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ERRATUM: I wrongly reported the equation on body mass index (BMI) to compute if you’re obese, overweight or normal (Gotcha, 29 May 2006). I’m very sorry for all the miscalculations I caused.

It should be your weight in kilos divided by the square of your height in meters, says Dr. Reynaldo Sinamban of St. Luke’s Medical Center. If using the English measure, there’s a variation: your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches squared, then multiplied by the factor of 703. There’ll be a slight variance in quotient too.

Example: Your weight is 70 kg; and your height is 1.725 m, the square of which is 2.975625. So 70 divided by 2.975625 equals 23.52.

Equivalently in the English, your weight is 154 lb; your height is 68 in., the square of which is 4624. So 154 divided by 4624, times 703, equals 23.41.

A quotient of 18.5 to 25 means it’s normal; up to 30 is overweight; up to 35 is Class-1 obesity; up to 40 is Class-2 obesity; over 40 is morbid obesity since you are 45 kg or 100 lb over normal. Health specialists agree that the ideal Filipino BMI is 22 for males and 21 for females.

If you’re within normal like the above example, but later bloat to 80 kg or 176 lb, you had better watch it. Your BMI would be 26.88 in metric or 26.75 in English, meaning you’re already overweight.

If you binge to 95 kg or 210 lb, you’d be worse. Your BMI would be 31.92 in metric or 31.93 in English – dangerously obese.

At any rate, see a doctor for any weight, metabolism or digestive problems.

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