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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Malilong: Pirma Dos
By Frank Malilong Jr.
The Other Side
It looks like the Arroyo government is determined to push for the amendment of the Constitution at all costs. After realizing that Charter change through a constituent assembly was doomed because of the intransigence of the Senate, the administration is now resorting to the so-called “people’s initiative” to achieve what it trumpets as the desired constitutional reforms.
This is not the first such attempt to invoke direct action by the people in changing the Constitution. In 1997, when the government of then President Fidel Ramos was coming to an end, some of his friends launched the People’s Initiative for Reforms, Modernization and Action (Pirma) to amend the Constitution and remove the term limits of the President and Congress. The purpose, which its proponents did not attempt to hide, was to allow Ramos, who prudently distanced himself from the movement, to run again.
Pirma got the needed signatures but the Supreme Court threw them to the waste bin because there was no law governing the exercise of people’s initiative. The rest is history. Ramos’ disqualification from seeking a second term stayed and an actor named Joseph Estrada was elected to succeed him.
The factual environment has not since changed. The law that the Constitution says Congress must pass to implement the exercise of “people’s initiative” is still not there, but that doesn’t seem to faze Mrs. Arroyo and her allies. Now, they’re gathering signatures in the barangays, following almost the same pattern employed by the friends of Ramos in 1997, the only difference being that this time Mrs. Arroyo’s hand in the process is very obvious.
Ironically, the current attempt to amend the Constitution appears to have started with Ramos himself, who, at the height of calls for Mrs. Arroyo to step down because of the “Hello Garci” scandal last year, suggested that the terms of office of incumbent officials be cut short to pave the way for a new election.
A look at the proposals made by the Constitutional Commission that Mrs. Arroyo created would readily show, however, that Ramos’ suggestion has been completely ignored. On the contrary, the Concom has proposed that the elections in 2007 be cancelled, thus effectively extending the terms of all elective officials.
In any rate, assuming that this updated version of the discredited Pirma passes legal and judicial scrutiny, all proposed amendments still have to be submitted to the people for approval. GMA may be able to easily gather the required number of signatures to endorse the proposals, but whether or not she can get majority of the registered voters to approve them in a plebiscite will depend on how beneficial these proposals are to the people.
I have always said that we, not the Constitution, are the problem and that unless we learn to honor and respect this sacred instrument and our other hallowed institutions, we will continue to be cursed by political instability. But I am willing to give this Administration a chance to unveil its package and show to us what their real agenda is.
Constitutional trick or treat? That we will soon find out.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 28, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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