Who's afraid of Cha-Cha?

Charter change. Cha-cha. Trust the Filipino to come up with the catchy nomenclature, even if you may not trust that to which the name is given. And so here we go again. With efforts toward constitutional amendments or charter change getting to be real and serious, so has opposition to the move gotten to be loud and frantic.

And frankly I do not know why. It is not as if charter change is something illegal and criminal. More importantly, it is not as if any change to the charter gets rammed down our throats without our approval. To effect changes in the basic law of the land, a complicated process needs to kick in. It is not a push-the-button-and-voila thing, like an ATM.

That the Constitution warrants changes from time to time is fully understood and accepted by the Constitution itself, or those who framed and ratified it. Change is at the very core of it because "We, the People" are not static. We move as the world moves, and go where life goes in all its ebbs and flows.

Those who oppose charter amendments, of course, have their reasons. Some are valid but some are not. The beauty of valid arguments is they can be validly addressed. Invalid thoughts, on the other hand, are not worth wasting a second arguing against. And so, assuming we get to the point of no return, let us all prepare to argue our positions like real men.

My position is very clear. What is allowed by the Constitution must be given its constitutionally-allowed due course. No ifs or buts in a proviso that is as clear as day. Changing the Constitution is a challenge to any nation and its people and must be met squarely and maturely. To be scared of changes is the surest way to stagnation and defeat.

The two main arguments against changes to the constitution is that, one, it is not time, and, two, it might be used to further the political interests of some beyond the original economic goals sought to be effected by the changes. To that I can only say that timing is as good as we allow it to be, and we only get conned if we allow ourselves to be.

The time for change is every day. There is no change we can make tomorrow that we cannot make today. What should preoccupy us instead is to have the foresight to make changes in preparation for tomorrow, not find solutions to yesterday’s problems. These are the crucial elements then, to reap tomorrow's benefits, not cry over spilled milk.

As to possible rape by political interests, that is to presume that all of us 110 million Filipinos would just stand idly by and watch the rape happen. If we do that, then we can only deserve the aftermath of our nonchalance and in which case we can never truly be trusted as a nation. We are as mature as the degree to which we can repeatedly be suckered.

The simplest way to say it is this: Nothing happens without our okay. Whether by constituent assembly or by constitutional convention no secret is or can be kept. What product proceeds from there needs to be ratified. By us in referendum. And if you still fear getting lost in the passing, then don't blame the politician. Indeed, don't blame anyone.