Cha-cha now has 3 support groups

The biggest national debate happening in this country today is whether or not we should dance the “cha-cha” tune, meaning go on charter changes. As if on cue, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas and Sen. Richard Gordon are now pushing for something that I have long been pushing for, a constitutional convention (con-con) where delegates are to be elected simultaneously during the May 2010 Presidential elections. This was one issue that I talked with Sen. Mar Roxas about during a dinner we had when he was in Cebu.

I also intimated this to former University of the Philippines (UP) President and 1971 con-con secretary-general Jose Abueva who is also the adviser for charter changes under the Arroyo Administration. Finally, cha-cha has now become a political issue, where the pros and the cons can take sides and debate on why we should change the charter or why we should keep it as it is. Our advocacy is to change the Cory Constitution!

My readers already know my sentiment about cha-cha, that we should have done this 22 years ago after the EDSA Revolt. Unfortunately, then Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo wanted then Pres. Cory Aquino to “fast track” the Cory Constitution, where they instructed 49 people to draft a new charter for the Philippines, now called the Cory Constitution. This is why it is not surprising that the Aquino family are hell-bent on keeping the 1987 Constitution despite all its inherent flaws; they just want to keep this constitution named after Tita Cory. This is the most selfish reason why we shouldn’t change the charter.

The problems we are facing today can be fixed by changing the constitution; unfortunately, there are sectors within the Arroyo Administration who wants to keep the good times rolling even after her legal term, hence these people want to change the charter on should the President stay in power even after the 2010 elections. I am totally against cha-cha if this is the reason why they want charter changes.

The cha-cha issue is now divided in the Senate into three groups. The first is like Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. who doesn’t want a con-con because it is too costly and time consuming. He wants to convert Congress into a Constituent Assembly (con-ass) to change the charter and adopt a Parliamentary form of government. The second group belongs to Press Secretary Jess Dureza who, like Sen. Pimentel, wants cha-cha quickly so they can remove the term limits and extend the term of Pres. Arroyo beyond 2010. The third is by Sen. Roxas and Gordon.

I’m against Sen. Pimentel’s proposal. We already experienced a constitution that was fast tracked. Look at what we got! “Haste makes waste!” What about the cost of a con-con? I dare say, damn the cost! A new constitution that is attuned to today’s times is what we need today. Politicians are like akin to Judas; always questioning our Lord Jesus about the cost of the oil for his hair, which could be given to the poor. For many decades, ugly and corrupt politicians steal government money, but when there is something this nation direly needs, they complain that it is too costly? 

I fully support the Roxas-Gordon proposal. I have been pushing for this in the last 10 years. If this is adopted, then we can be assured that Pres. Arroyo’s term would end in 2010, while the elected delegates for the con-con will immediately begin.

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Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) is currently in Hong Kong for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) as she’s one of the leaders from “emerging economies” who was asked to speak in this forum. Now whether GMA has something to say about emerging economics, perhaps she should teach her audience on the remarkable way that the Philippines has remained an emerging economy since we got our Independence in July 4,1946.

GMA might as well make a good speech in Hong Kong because we just heard the report that the 14th ASEAN Leader’s Summit in Bangkok, Thailand this coming Dec.15-18 has been postponed. Shades of our hosting the 12th ASEAN Leaders Summit, a victim of postponement due to a typhoon. But in Thailand, it is ugly politics that prevents the ASEAN leaders from meeting this coming Dec.15. I don’t think that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) would allow the current Thai government under Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to be Prime Minister before they lift their protests at the Bangkok Airport.