Thursday, May 29, 2008 NGO calls for ConCon to revise Constitution
A NONGOVERNMENT organization (NGO) yesterday renewed calls to amend the 1987 Constitution through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).
Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), said rewriting the Charter through Con-Con is a more trustworthy approach.
But in a forum dubbed as “Should We ChaCha Now?” Casiple expressed apprehension if a proposal to revise the Charter will be pursued considering the present political chaos in the country.
Yesterday’s forum was attended by various NGOs and cause-oriented groups under the umbrella of the Central Visayas Network of NGOs. (Cenvisnet).
Casiple said there is really a need to rewrite the Charter “from day one” because even those who drafted the Charter knew that revision is needed in the later days.
Government
“It (1987 Constitution) was a document that was hurriedly prepared because of the special situation of that time,” he said, referring to the revolutionary government of then President Corazon Aquino.
“They (provisions) are just beautiful words in our Constitution but never part of the democratic practices, said Casiple.
He said the Constitution is by nature a social contract.
Of the options on how to rewrite the Charter, Casiple considered Con-Con as the most effective method because it calls for a “genuine” participation by the people in
Congress.
Revising the Constitution through a Constitutional Assembly (Con-Ass), he said, will only allow traditional politicians to stay in power and run a local government.
On the other hand, amending the Charter through People’s Initiative could be manipulated by the interior department agency, said Casiple.
Another reason why there is a need to amend the Charter is that there is a promise of a participative democracy, said Casiple.
Constitution
“The question for us is can the people still be protected and their interest advanced in a changing economic and political condition that we are in,” he said.
The issue is not the need to amend the Charter, he said, but the urgency in revising the Constitution.
Casiple also warned the public that the issue of rewriting the Charter will be used by some politicians to stay in power. (GMD)
