Charter change should not be killed

The ruckus raised by Rep. Joel Villanueva that charter change through constituent assembly is still alive implies it should not live. Hit it on the head, strangle it. Whatever it takes, just kill it. It may be a useful metaphor for charter change critics but unseemly coming from those who pass off themselves as democratic, honest and Christian. Charter change now has its adherents and they must be given the democratic space equal to those who are against it.

The use of extreme rhetoric reveals a strange revulsion against charter change. Its enemies would do all, at whatever cost, whether in constituent assembly or any other method prescribed by the Constitution to stop it. Some critics pretend they want charter change through constitutional convention but only after the 2010 presidential elections.

The truth is that we have gone through this pretend drama for years, if it is proposed at the beginning of a presidential term it is said to be too early and if it is at the end, it is too late. Look into newspaper and legislative archives. The most handy excuse is to let a coming elections go first. The election of new officials is the surest way to stop charter change.

The young Villanueva is the son of religious and political leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva who himself ran for president in 2004. Joel is a party list congressman representing CIBAC, a citizens’ group against corruption. He is also the fifth richest among party list lawmakers with a net worth of more than P18 million.

Bro. Eddie was for charter change during President FVR’s time. We worked together believing that FVR’s government deserves to be voted upon for a second time. Had we succeeded with our advocacy, and a referendum held on charter change, the elections in 1997 would have been a choice between continuity by returning government with a vision for the country and an uncertain future presided by a popular actor who had no clue about the presidency.

As it turned out to be, the triumph of stupidity was more than an educated guess. The rejection of charter change through machinations in media, the judiciary and Congress, even before it had a chance to be voted upon by the people in a referendum, proved catastrophic. This should have been a lesson learned. The same drama is being repeated. Rather that kill charter change, we should keep it alive, continue debating it and then work towards a referendum in which we could vote democratically. Surely a referendum has priority over elections.

A charter change victory then would have been a vote for FVR. Instead we were gifted with Erap. But times change. The Villanuevas, pater et fil, are now with the opposition and out of any movement supporting charter change.

Still, I had hoped Villanueva pater would have passed on some of the lessons we learned to his son, Joel.

Charter change without the support of America will never succeed. The strings that pull the puppets amongst us, cultivated for years, are very much in place even if it does not seem so. That is why I continue to support charter change. I support it because for me, it is an extension of our wars of independence.

A successful shift to parliamentary government today would repudiate the presidential system imposed on us when we were given our independence. The emerging American empire of late 19th century was out to prove not only their military superiority over European powers but to show their cultural and political supremacy in the world. Since parliamentary government was developed in Great Britain, its former colonizer, ergo it should not be adopted by the Philippines.

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President GMA has advocated for charter change long before her term was near its end. Now is the time for her to put her presidency on the block in support of a legacy for charter change.

She should come out openly and boldly for charter change that would shift us to parliamentary government. But at the same time she should come out strongly against any extension of terms for herself or any elected official under the unrevised 1987 Constitution. The proposition in a referendum should say that clearly and explicitly, no ifs or buts about it.

The 2010 elections should be for electing members of parliament. All presidential wannabes should run as candidates of political parties with programs on which the electorate will vote upon and that goes for President GMA as well. Only the winners among them as members of parliament can qualify to be elected head of government.

The job of Congress is simply to articulate the proposition for charter change in a referendum. It is time to take the issue of charter change out of the hands of the Establishment entrenched by the American colonialists who are bent on keeping the status quo.

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Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad led the move to enact major constitutional changes that enabled him to carry out the modernization of his country’s economy.

He removed the royal veto and royal immunity from prosecution in 1983 and 1991. Before this amendment, royal assent was required in order for any bill to pass into law. This enabled his government to move more quickly with its development plans. Any amendment so long as it was approved by parliament was legal and considered as royal assent after 30 days, whatever the views of the monarchs were.

No less than Joseph Stiglitz, the World Bank’s chief economist, acknowledges the wisdom of Mahathir’s leadership and paid tribute to him in the ‘’World Development Review”, because of his skillful handling of capital controls.

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Congresswoman Rachel Arenas has put together a team from Pangasinan hospitals, among them the Specialist Group Hospital and Trauma Center, and others in the medical community of her province to help her constituents find local and overseas jobs.

The Japanese group, who were recently in Manila, was led by the chairman of the Senior Welfare Committee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. They were impressed with the facilities and training in Pangasinan hospitals. The applicants will, of course, have to hurdle tests for Japanese language proficiency. Both nurses and caregivers are wanted. Labor Attache Reydeliz D. Conferido who was in the meeting said the POEA has already received some 2,000 applicants for the first 200 nursing job offers while more than 5,000 aspirants have applied for the 300 caregiver slots.