Cha-cha

Those who want to amend the constitution seeking a change for the better have a shift to a federal form of government in mind. They believe that the problem with the Philippines lies in its present form of government, which is presidential.

Others seeking to amend the charter, under whatever guise so long as the objective is realized, have a more sinister motive. And that is to perpetuate themselves in power after their legal terms under the present constitution shall have expired.

There is really nothing wrong with amending a constitution. Other countries do it as often as is practical for their purposes. The situation in the Philippines, however, is rather unique than those of others.

The problem with the Philippines is not so much about the constitution than it is about the people, or to be more fair and precise, the kind of leaders who have entrenched themselves in positions of power in government.

Before the Philippines slid into a state of so much rapacious corruption and lawlessness, its constitution posed no serious obstacle to its march to progress. In fact the charter proved to be a great source of strength in making the country second only to Japan.

But that was decades ago. Since then, Filipinos have attempted, and succeeded, in tampering with the constitution that, patterned after that of the United States, served our unabashedly pro-American interests well.

Somewhere along the way, however, there was a sea-change in Filipino attitudes. Power, and the greed for it, became all too consuming. Those consumed by it needed to acquire it by whatever means, fair or foul, but mostly foul.

The gradual demise of the once proud and indomitable Filipino spirit became steadily apparent in the litany of embarrassing moments we have subjected ourselves before the probing eyes of the world.

The latest debacle of our sporting delegation to the Beijing Olympics, where all our athletes never went beyond the elimination rounds, is a case in point about how far we have sunk in the quality of ourselves as a people.

It seems that there is no greater preoccupation in the country than the amassing of power, and to work for the fall from power of those who stand in the way. Politics which used to serve as the backbone for public service now serves only deep-seated personal interests.

Given such a transformation of the Filipino character, there is little or no doubt that even the greatest political systems in the world, instituted by charter change at every whim and fancy of the moment, will never serve well the interests of the people that we have become.

The best German technology that goes into a Mercedes Benz will never amount to anything to a tuba gatherer who has never sat behind a wheel all his life. To appreciate the beauty of driving, the tuba gatherer must first learn how to drive, even if it takes driving only a cart.

To truly appreciate and derive meaningful and practical benefits from the changes we seek, first we must make ourselves ready and ripe for change. It makes no sense putting on new clothes if our body is soiled and smells. Cha-cha sound good, but are we ready for it?

Veteran broadcaster Choy Torralba will be having the press-launching of his "Tug-ani Ang Lungsod" radio program today at 11 a.m. at Grand Convention Center. "Tug-ani" starts airing September 1, Monday to Friday, at 10 a.m. to 12 noon over DYRF Radyo Fuerza, 1215 khz.