Are we seeing the beginnings of a con-con?

Because they are lacking in material time, finally the members of the House of Representatives who were earlier batting for charter changes via a constituent assembly (con-ass) finally came to their senses when the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Rep. Victor Ortega revealed that he would support the growing move within the House for the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention (con-con) simultaneously with the May 2010 polls.

Call it my dream come true as I’ve been batting for a con-con for more than a decade now; but yes, there is still time to put the names of the would-be con-con delegates into the official ballot and it is a fact that adding the name of the con-con delegates in the ballot will not cost much.

As if the members of the House Committee read my previous columns on this issue, they also pointed out that political parties would be banned from participating in the election of the con-con delegates since amending the Constitution is a non-partisan job. Funny, when Congress still had the time to force the cha-cha issue via con-ass, they pointed out that con-ass was the best and cheapest way to change the charter, despite the reality that the members of Congress are all politicians and therefore vested with their own selfish or political interests!

The House Committee also agreed that there should be one con-con delegate for each Legislative District. But more importantly, the committee also took my stand that elected con-con delegates would be banned from running in the first election after the ratification of the Charter that they drafted to prove that the delegates do not have any political interest or motives in seeking the post of con-con delegate.

This is exactly what we wanted, that we elect con-con delegates whose primary interest is to come up with a better charter that would ensure good governance and a better politics for our people and economic policies attuned to the New Millennium. Today the Office of the President is the most powerful position in the national government, but if we shifted to a Federal system, then this power can be shared with the Federal States.

There are many issues that need to be removed from the present Cory Constitution and one of the most important is the issue on term limits, which in my book is just too short for elected officials. We should go back to the time tested four-year term with a re-election period for two more terms. Only the President should be given a four-year term, plus one more term.

But the biggest goal, especially for the people of the Visayas and Mindanao and certain parts of Luzon is for the establishment of a Federal form of government, where the States can be given real autonomy, unlike our Local Government Code which is nothing but a lip service to autonomy. But first things first; we have to hurdle the obstacle from people who believe that we do not need charter change. They are the pro-Cory people who want to preserve the Constitution that bears her name.

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Call it a bold move, but I laud the efforts of Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, proposing an ordinance that mandates all shops, groceries or supermarkets to use only paper bags or biodegradable baskets when people go shopping. I say that it is a bold step because it is an ordinance that truly addresses the problem of clogging in our rivers, esteros or dumpsites. Of course, we concur that the use of paper bags also mean the cutting of trees which is supposed to be a no-no. However, there are now environmental efforts by paper pulp companies to go on tree farming and cutting only the trees that are ready for cutting.

As in all other ordinances, if and when this is signed into a law, we will have to strictly enforce this law. Again I’d like to point to the days of our youth when we used to go to Carbon market bringing a basket or “buyot” with us that we re-use many times until it gets shredded. Using a basket mean giving jobs to our basket weavers and thus, helping the poor sector in our society to get through these harsh times.

Today, if you take a look at the Guadalupe River or the Lahug Creek, you will see all sorts of plastic bags and styrofoam at the riverbed. When the flash floods come, these non-biodegradable products will certainly end up in the sea and kill our corals and marine wildlife. Of course, there will be people who will be against this measure. They’re the ones who do not care for the environment. So if these people do not want to cooperate, then the consumers should keep away from their business establishments. Caring for Mother Earth is everyone’s business. We need to be united in this endeavor. Let’s hope that the Cebu City Council will speed up this measure so it can become a law in Cebu City.