IN A seeming reversal of his full-on denunciation of Charter change last month, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said Sunday he supports Charter change, but only if it favors the succeeding presidents and not the incumbent president, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In his speech during a prayer rally at the Kasadya grounds in the South Road Properties in Cebu City on Feb. 25, the 38th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, Duterte said he does not have any problem with changing the Constitution, even changing the term of a president, so long as it does not benefit the incumbent president and is not used to extend the term of Marcos Jr.
During a prayer rally last Jan. 28 in Davao City, Duterte had warned Marcos Jr. against pushing for Charter change (Cha-cha), saying there was nothing wrong with the 1987 Constitution and warning that Marcos Jr. might be ousted from power like his father before him during the People Power Revolution of 1986, if he insisted on Cha-cha.
On Sunday, Duterte said Cha-cha was first proposed during the time of Marcos Sr. and has now been revived during the regime of his son, Marcos Jr.
In fact, Cha-cha was also attempted by the Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo and Duterte administrations before the current administration, according to news reports.
“Mosuporta ko. Cha-cha? Okay, basta si Marcos moingon, mo-commit siya sa mga tawo nga dili siya modagan pag-usab,” Duterte said.
(I will support Cha-cha so long as Marcos commits to the people that he will not run again.)
He said Marcos should remain in his position for one term of six years in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, saying that if the Marcoses want to extend to two or three terms, it should be done in accordance with the Constitution by letting the people decide.
“Mag Cha-cha man ta, sa unsa nga paagi (whether through) people’s initiative, constituent body of Congress, or constitutional convention, we can really change anything there for as long as there is no vested interest,” Duterte said.
He said changing the economic provisions has always been used as the reason for Cha-cha, especially when the one in the position wants to extend his or her term.
“Changes in the Constitution, economic provisions, whatever... even sa terms sa chapter diha tanang (even the terms of all the chapters there), apil na ang termino sa (including the term of the) president, okay ko (I’m okay with it), basta dili mo pabor sa galingkod karon ug sa sunod nga (so long as it doesn’t favor the one sitting there now and in the next) election,” Duterte reiterated.
He said the move would bring the Filipinos back to what happened during the time of Marcos Sr. who, during his regime, looked for money to ensure the extension of his term.
He added whatever reasons they would use in changing the Constitution, it would always end up like what already happened in the past.
People’s initiative
During the rally, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also gave his stance on the people’s initiative (PI).
“I do not like the people’s initiative because it has become a congressional initiative and likewise it has become a secret initiative,” Rama said.
Presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos has accused House Speaker and her cousin Martin Romualdez of offering a P20 million reward per legislative district in exchange for signatures in support of the PI.
The PI proposes to amend the 1987 Constitution by allowing all members of Congress to jointly (rather than separately) vote on proposed constitutional amendments in a constituent assembly.
This would make the 24 senators’ votes count for practically nothing against the votes of the 316 members of the House of Representatives and make it easier to revise the Constitution, the Senate said in a manifesto against the PI last month.
On Sunday, Rama said Cebu City is not for sale and the country likewise.
Rama was one of the guest speakers at the prayer rally, where he spoke before Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, former congressman Glenn Chong, former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., and former President Duterte, who served as the main speaker of the night. Other attendees were representatives Isidro Ungab and Paolo Duterte, and Cebu City Councilor Donaldo Hontiveros and Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell.
Support change
On Monday, Feb. 26, Rama said he would support the call of the former president, saying Duterte was right when he said any changes in the Constitution should not benefit the one who is currently in power.
Rama said it is a “normal thing” if it occurs within a constituent assembly or constitutional convention; otherwise, it would not provide a good starting point.
Mayor Alfonso “Al” Pestolante of San Remigio town in northern Cebu also expressed support for extending the single six-year term of a president. But he said further study is needed.
When asked whether he wishes to see Marcos Jr. benefit from the term extension, he said Marcos’s performance should be evaluated first.
“Four years would be enough time for us to see the performance and decide either to continue for years or to find another one,” he told SunStar on Monday.
Against Cha-cha
Meanwhile, Jaime Paglinawan, chairman of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Central Visayas, said Sunday, Feb. 25, that the term extension of politicians is among their concerns if the amendment to the Constitution is passed.
He said the push for Cha-cha would benefit only the ruling class, comprising individuals in influential positions.
Paglinawan argued that the challenges faced by the poor and common citizens stem not from existing laws and constitutional provisions but from politicians’ failure to implement them for the majority of Filipinos’ benefit.
In a statement sent to SunStar Cebu on Monday, Paglinawan said Cha-cha is one of the ways of the current administration to extend its grasp on power.
“It is not appropriate to support former President Duterte’s stance that he agrees with Cha-cha where the president, and others in the position will extend the term beyond six years and can still be reelected while other positions in the LGUs (local government units) in the Congress will be extended even if their term is beyond what is in our Constitution,” Paglinawan said.
“Even if Duterte said the extension of the term will be done beyond the 2028 election... he agrees with Cha-cha,” Paglinawan said.
Paglinawan recalled that under Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2022, he pushed for amendments in the 1987 Constitution to introduce federalism in national governance, which did not prosper.
In addition, Paglinawan said Duterte’s expression of support now is to pressure Marcos’s administration to bar the entry of the International Criminal Court that will investigate the atrocities and human rights violations behind the former administration’s “War on Drugs.”
“The Dutertes are only using the Cha-cha campaign to pressure Marcos Jr. for their interest so that the ICC cannot enter the Philippines, and get more funds for the preparation of (Vice President) Sara Duterte, who is also ambitious for a higher position,” Paglinawan said.
Disappointed voters
On Sunday, senior citizens Jose and Annie Garcia, a couple from Barangay Pasil, Cebu City, said they attended the prayer rally to hear from Duterte, and that they were also against the PI.
“Stop the People’s Initiative. Stop the abuse,” Jose said in Cebuano.
He added that the current administration has not done anything good for the country during its two years of service.
He said Marcos, along with his wife Liza Araneta Marcos, and Martin Romualdez should step down from office.
“Rice is already very expensive. Where now is the rice he promised for P20 a kilo?” Jose asked.
According to the Garcia couple, they gave their trust to Marcos Jr. and voted for him in the 2022 elections and have ended up disappointed.
Unity
During the rally, Rama also called for unity among the country’s two top leaders -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
“We should be united, indivisible and undivided. That’s why Marcos (and Sara) Duterte, do your job! Sakto ko (Am I right)?” Rama said.
Rama, in his speech, urged them to fulfill their obligations and commitment to the UniTeam to guide the country toward progress through unity.
Rama said there is no need for another Edsa people power revolution, reiterating that Marcos Jr. and Sara should do their jobs.
Constitution
The Constitution is the supreme law of the Philippines.
Before the elder Marcos came into the picture, the Philippines operated under the 1935 Constitution, as amended, that provided for a bicameral congress and gave the president of the country a term of four years with a possibility of being reelected for a second term.
President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was elected president of the country in 1965 and reelected to a second term in 1969.
However, Marcos Sr.’s massive spending on foreign debt-funded infrastructure projects to curry favor with voters during the 1969 presidential campaign, as he aimed to become the first Filipino to win a second term as president, led opposition figures to accuse him of intending to stay in power beyond the two terms allowed by the 1935 Constitution.
Martial law
Before the end of his second and last term, Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972, and under his administration, the 1973 Constitution was adopted that gave the president (head of state) a term of six years with no prohibition on reelection, abolished the bicameral Congress—and with it, its system of checks and balances—in favor of a unicameral Batasang Pambansa in a parliamentary system of government, which meant there would be a prime minister (head of government).
In 1976, amendments to the 1973 Constitution made the incumbent president of the Philippines the prime minister, and allowed the president to exercise legislative powers until martial law was lifted. This enabled Marcos Sr. to rule concurrently as prime minister in 1978.
After Marcos Sr. was ousted in the 1986 People Power Revolt, Corazon Aquino became president, and the 1987 Constitution adopted under her term restored the presidential system of government and a bicameral Congress and the ban on presidential reelection.