Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Aportadera: Why amend the Preamble?
By Atty. Billy Aportadera
Rights and duties
THE Preamble of the 1987 Philippine Constitution declares that "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution."
The proposed amendment conceived by the Abueva Consultative Commission reads: "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to establish a Government that shall embody our ideals, promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the patrimony of our nation, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of democracy under a regime of justice, peace, liberty, and equality, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution."
There is nothing wrong with the Preamble of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. The declaration has never been involved in any constitutional issue. It is a good preamble. It does not need any amendment.
The proposed amendment of the ConCom omitted the phrase "to build a just and humane society." The Concom is not interested for the Filipino people to build such a just and humane society. For them, it is enough that the sovereign Filipino people establish a Government.
Also, they changed the phrase "common good" to "general welfare"; and rephrased "our patrimony" to "the patrimony of our nation." There is no constitutional significance in the proposed changes. They are more of syntax. Also, they deleted the "blessings of independence" and "under the rule of law." Is the ConCom proposing that we do not have to secure the blessings of independence we are now enjoying? And in deleting "under the rule of law", the ConCom diminishes its importance in our society, especially at this stage that we are in the brink of the "the rule of lawlessness." Peace and order has deteriorated, and the justice system is hampered by corruption.
Are these proposed amendments to the Preamble so important and significant that a consultative commission has to be created?
The constitution of a country is a vital document to its people. It is declared and promulgated by the sovereign people through its ratification in a plebiscite duly called for the purpose.
The constitution is most often referred to as the "basic law of the land," as the "fundamental law of the land." It is such an important document that amending it requires extensive debates by the people and by the body they have tasked to propose amendments. It is not an ordinary piece of legislation that one could tinker around and propose amendments. It is the very essence of a people's society and government.
A people's constitution should be brief and concise. It has been said that the 1987 Philippine Constitution is the longest in the world. It is not also brief. It is on these points that the proposed amendments to the Constitution should be focused.
Finally, note should be taken that framing of a people's constitution should be deliberate. The American Constitution which has preceded our Constitution and from which we adopted its democratic principles has undergone fourteen amendments only. We should take a cue from this.
Attorney Abelardo "Billy" Aportadera Jr., former Commissioner on Human Rights and former Assistant Ombudsman, is a practicing lawyer and a member of Philconsa
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