|
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Lee: Changing the Constitution
By Kelvin King Lee
Babble On
'The Speaker of the House has neglected to consider that perhaps it isn't just the system that is the main problem, but that perhaps it is the people involved that is the problem'.
THE clamor for charter change has begun. Malacañang and Congress have begun pushing to change the longest unchanged Constitution the country has had in recent memory.
Some will say that the 1987 Constitution is a flawed document; others will say it should have been changed and amended a long time ago. Everyone will agree that it was rushed, since the Constitutional Commissioners who crafted it had a severe time limit to contend with. Because of that, it had many ambiguities built into it, and a fundamental law that is unclear is not a good thing, experts will say. These same experts would also contend that the only way out for our country is to change the entire system -- from the Presidential system to the Federal-Parliamentary. And to do this would require amending our Constitution.
It's time for change, you will hear.
I must, respectfully, disagree.
Though I will admit that the system we are living in now is flawed. The 1987 Constitution with its inherent Presidential system, once enjoying such widespread support that it was ratified overwhelmingly by the people in a plebiscite, is now seen by many politicians as deadweight around the country's neck. Speaker of the House Jose De Venecia in particular seems to be adamantly against the Presidential system, saying that there are only two countries left in Asia with the Presidential system -- Indonesia and the Philippines, and both are not doing very well. He claims that it is the fault of the systems we are using, that we shouldn't have simply transplanted an American Presidential system into our country just like that.
But that this would be a simplistic argument. And one that deserves a simplistic answer then. The Speaker of the House has neglected to consider that perhaps it isn't just the system that is the main problem; but that perhaps it is the people involved that is the problem.
To overhaul an admittedly flawed fundamental law such as the 1987 Constitution into a new Constitution advocating a Federal-Parliamentary system of which we are unclear on, unsure of, and the people are unaware of, is not the solution. It may, in fact, simply cause more problems, and waste more money that the Philippines cannot afford to.
We are in a crisis, sir. A crisis of politics and of economics. And a drastic change that only a select few want, is not a solution to a crisis.
In fact, it can be reasonably argued that much of the problems we have now can be attributed to politics and politicians. A change in systems, specifically into a Parliamentary one, where the chief executive such as the Prime Minister would be chosen among those same politicians, would mean that nothing would have changed after all. Traditional politics would still rule the day. The method may be different, but the result would be the same, whether it's a Presidential or a
Parliamentary system. It would still be all about Politics. And we will see then that, in fact, nothing will have changed after all.
* * * * *
I have heard that our own Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has been appointed as part of the Consultative Commission tasked by President Arroyo to craft recommendations on Constitutional Reform. Many may have forgotten already that our Mayor is also a lawyer, from San Beda College I believe, one of the best in the country. He was a hard-hitting Fiscal before he became Mayor, which means that he knows the law, and has been quite adept and making it work in our fair city. This makes him a good choice for the consultative commission.
And though I have no wish to impose my opinion our Mayor, may I perhaps, humbly state and repeat that a Parliamentary system isn't a good idea for our country. The political bickering (which I am sure the Mayor has had a chance to experience and see for himself when he was a member of Congress) would just bog down our country.
As for a Federal system though, I do believe that may have some merit. But that can be the topic of a later column.
* * * * *
I will be taking a short break in order to study for my finals. A whole semester worth of laws and lessons are about to be crammed into my head in little less than a week. Such fun. Wish me luck.
(Email me at babbleoncolumn@yahoo.com)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (October 1, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
