Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Anti-Charter change drive launched
OPPOSITION congressmen have launched a counter-campaign to muster the needed 65 signatories to thwart the Arroyo administration’s Charter change campaign.
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Satur Ocampo is spearheading the campaign, which is so far supported by at least 10 congressmen, mostly from the 25-man minority bloc.
Nueva Ecija Representative Edno Joson said the administration will have a hard time getting the three-fourths votes of all members of Congress if the senators do not agree.
He said it will take only 65 votes to block the initiative.
Speaker Prospero Nograles’s House Resolution 737, which has so far gathered 163 signatures, calls for the amendment of Sections 2 and 3, Article 12 of the Constitution "to allow the acquisition by foreign corporations and associations and the transfer or conveyance thereto of alienable public and private lands."
The number is 15 signatures short of the requirement of a three-fourths House vote but still lacks 33 signatures if the 24 senators are included.
The other resolution sponsored by Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte which calls for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) has already gathered at least 150 signatures.
The two parallel drafts do not provide for the term extension of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but this does not stop a congressman from proposing such once the proponents muster the required three-fourths vote or 196 of all members of Congress.
The House committee on constitutional amendments chaired by La Union Representative Victor Ortega is set to resume its hearing Tuesday on the proposals to amend the Constitution.
Nograles said his resolution can still serve as a basis for raising a point of constitutional inquiry before the Supreme Court (SC) which is yet to rule on whether the voting should be done separately or jointly by both chambers of Congress.
The Constitution provides that any revision or amendment may be proposed by a vote of three-fourths of all members of Congress.
It does not, however, specifically state "both Houses." Some lawmakers interpret this to mean that the House can introduce proposed changes even without the participation of the Senate.
Former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said that while he has been pushing for Charter change for 15 years, the new attempt “is not an authentic crusade to shift the government from presidential to parliamentary form of government.”
“This is now a ploy to extend President Arroyo beyond 2010,” he said. “In other words this project now has an evil design. It's not bona fide it's not genuine, not an authentic constitutional reform that's why I'm opposing it.”
De Venecia said Arroyo is evading plunder charges upon her retirement in 2010.
“The underlying principle motivating (now) is to extend GMA (Arroyo) and to give her legal protection beyond 2010 by allowing her to run for parliament and run for prime minister,” he added.
’No Cha-Cha zone’
In Makati, United Opposition (UNO) president and Mayor Jejomar Binay declared the city as a “No Cha-Cha” zone with the City Council set to pass a resolution calling for such measure.
The city's two representatives, Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Abigail Binay, are also opposed to Charter change.
Sources within the City Government said all 18 councilors have expressed opposition to renewed moves in the House of Representatives to revise the Constitution.
All the councilors were from the opposition party as they clobbered the administration party in the 2007 elections.
The mayor hoped that other local governments would pass similar resolutions to convey their opposition to Charter change, which has gained momentum at the House.
"Makati is surely not alone in opposing Charter change, which is clearly intended to extend Mrs. Arroyo's hold on power beyond 2010. I do hope other local governments will express the sentiments of their people on the issue," he said.
Binay also said that all sectors should work to ensure the integrity and independence of the SC, adding that the high court will be the battleground for the Charter change initiative being mounted by Arroyo allies.
"The proponents of Charter change, led by Speaker Nograles and Mrs. Arroyo's congressman-son, are all saying the same thing: let's bring this issue to the Supreme Court. It would not be alarming if not for the fact that seven justices are due to retire and Mrs. Arroyo has the power to name their replacements," he said.
"And it will be a Supreme Court with a clear majority appointed by Mrs. Arroyo that will decide the fate of Charter change," he said.
Seven SC justices are set to retire next year, giving Mrs. Arroyo the chance to appoint her choice for the post though they still have to pass through the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) which screen applicants.
Civil society groups have spearheaded the formation of a “Bantay Korte Suprema” to scrutinize the President’s pick to the post to be vacated.
Protests
For his part, UNO spokesman Adel Tamano said a series of massive demonstrations reminiscent of the 2005 rallies when the Arroyo administration was besieged by the “Hello Garci” scandal and the subsequent resignation of 10 Cabinet secretaries collectively known as the “Hyatt 10” would be launched to stop Charter change proponents from amending the Constitution.
"We were prompted to hasten their plan of actions in the midst of the hearing the House committee on constitutional amendments called on Tuesday to tackle Charter change," Tamano said.
"We have started our meetings a month ago because we do not want to be caught flatfooted. We want to be ready for anything that might happen. We have to start moving," he added.
"We may not agree on everything, we may be divided in many issues; but we agree on one thing: GMA cannot stay beyond 2010," he said.
Last Monday, militant-youth groups National Union of Students of the Philippines, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, League of Filipino Students, Anakbayan, and Student Christian Movement launched an anti-Charter change signature drive in Quezon City.
They are set to launch “street classes” against Charter change on Tuesday which includes protests and noise barrages.
The militant-youth groups claimed that what they favor are “genuine change in government, change in the system” and not the present Charter change moves by administration allies.
Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio said Malacañang has nothing against the anti-Charter change groups.
“People’s vigilance on the Charter change issue is not something we consider undesirable. The Palace is in favor of transparency in the House of Representatives’ handling of Charter Change moves and initiatives so that the public will be properly apprised of its plans and the motives behind them,” he said.
He added that transparency in the Charter change moves will also guide the public and enable them to make a “sober, objective and intelligent” judgment when it is time to decide and vote on the issue.
Con-con
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) supports the plan to change the Constitution but through a Constitutional Convention (Con-con), and should be conducted after the 2010 elections.
“If the Constitution needs to be changed, it should be by way of a Constitutional Convention, and after the 2010 polls,” said CBCP president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
Changing the Constitution through a Con-con instead of a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) will help ensure that the will of the people will be the ones that will prevail, according to Lagdameo.
The prelate added that constitutional amendments under the current administration would be unacceptable since the move might lead to an extension to power of those seating in government instead of just changing some of its provisions.
“More than changing the form of our government, they are those who are guilty of graft and corruption, who need to change or be changed,” he said.
He called on the faithful to be vigilant and prayerful in critiquing and denouncing the manipulations of government especially in moves concerning the country’s laws. (Sunnex)
