Philippines: Gloria allies ready final push for Constitutional Change aka Cha-cha.

Even though Gloria claims that the constitutional change has nothing to do with extending her term, the opposition refuses to believe that. Gloria shows her tactical skill by attempting to bend the rules to her aims by having the two houses vote together on the changes since she has a large majority of support in the lower house. Although the Supreme Court will probably have to decided the constitutionality of this scheme it is packed with Arroyo appointments. However, even then the eminent judges sometimes decide enough is enough!


Gloria allies ready final push for Cha-cha
By Angie M. Rosales
12/01/2008
Running short of time, allies of President Arroyo in the House of Representatives are moving at double-time to push Charter change (Cha-cha) efforts with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel warning that Mrs. Arroyo’s allies would likely use numerical superiority to ram through efforts to amend the Constitution.
Insistence of Palace allies in Congress to have the two chambers vote jointly in effecting Cha-cha is obviously aimed at taking advantage of the apparent numerical superiority of lawmakers supporting the administration in the House of Representatives, effectively railroading the move to amend the 1987 Constitution, Pimentel, the Senate minority leader, said.
This will also enable President Arroyo to stay in power even beyond her mandate, he added.
A ranking Lakas CMD executive said Palace allies in the House of Representatives are running short of time in pushing Cha-cha with only barely six months for them to work on it since the law stipulates that efforts to change the Constitution cannot be undertaken one year before elections.
Ed Malay told a a forum held at Dapitan Manila yesterday that people will oppose any move to alter the present form of government.
“People right now would rather wait for 2010 to voice out their sentiments in what is happening now and GMA knows that very well after the debacle of team unity last senatorial election,” he said.
The insistence of administration congressmen for a joint voting is patently unconstitutional, against parliamentary tradition and simply illogical, Pimentel said even as he pointed out that the House has at present 229 congressmen compared to only 23 senators.
“If we vote jointly, we will always be overwhelmed and outnumbered by the House,” he said.
Pimentel said Mrs. Arroyo’s allies are pursuing this devious scheme on the presumption that when the issue of its constitutionality is raised before the Supreme Court, their position will be upheld by the tribunal.
However, he said he firmly believes that the Supreme Court, even if it is packed with Arroyo appointees, will resolve this issue according to the rule of law and the paramount public interest, and not to please the appointing authority.
The senator from Mindanao dared the proponents of the joint voting scheme to drop their proposal altogether to remove a major stumbling block that has set back the process for amending the Constitution.
The opposition lawmaker likewise warned saying that the trashing of the fourth impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo is a portent of things to come if the administration lawmakers will insist on amending the Constitution through joint voting of the Senate and lower house.
House allies of Mrs. Arroyo, meanwhile, accused anti-charter change groups of exploiting the issue in a bid to derail legitimate attempts to amend the Constitution.
The administration lawmakers said that anti-charter change groups are suffering from paranoia.
“We are not going to extend the term of office of public officials, including the President,” says La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles, one of the proponents of charter change, reiterated that he himself is against the term extension and proposals to postpone the 2010 elections.
“We will not extend her (President Arroyo) term. Period,” Nograles said.
Taking the cudgels for Mrs. Arroyo, Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, said that the president will step down as mandated by law.
“I am against term extension for the President simply because she is against it. The President has become a collateral damage of this Charter change enterprise,” Alvarez said.
“She has neither given any order, direct or indirect, verbal or written, nor dropped a hint or a text message that she wants to stay in Malacañang any minute longer than what’s allowed by law,” Alvarez said.
“What they did to the impeachment case by using their numerical superiority, they will also do on the proposed extension of terms,” Pimentel added.
The minority leader said the administration game plan was pried open when it was discovered that the House committee on constitutional amendments had started discussion on a resolution, authored by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, to extend the term of all elective public officials from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2011.
But the principal objective of the administration, according to Pimentel is to adopt a parliamentary system of government where the constitutional ban against the reelection of the incumbent president will be rendered inoperative. This will enable Mrs. Arroyo to run for Member of Parliament in Pampanga and subsequently for prime minister.
At the same time, Pimentel disagreed on the suggestion of former University of the Philippines and l97l Constitutional Convention secretary general Jose Abueva to hold a Constitutional Convention and the election of its delegates in May, 2010 meaning simultaneously with the scheduled national and local elections.
Pimentel argued that it would be much better to convert Congress into a Constituent Assembly than to call a Con-Con because it is a faster and an inexpensive process.
Moreover, he said it is inadvisable to hold the election of Con Con delegates and national and local government officials at the same time because the public discussion of constitutional issues and specific amendments is likely to be overshadowed by partisan political issues during the election campaign.
“With the many problems she is facing, she certainly doesn’t need this aggravation. Sadly, here is the case of a clueless dorm mother getting the blame for the actions of her boarders. What’s certain is 17 months from now, she’ll do a (outgoing-US President George) Bush, and that is to welcome to Malacanang her successor to kick off an orderly transition.”
Another lawmaker, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, said anti-Chacha efforts prevent an “honest-to-goodness” revisiting of the 1987 Constitution, which contains some provisions that are either no longer useful or needs improvement, especially those involving economic policies that is included in the proposals of Nograles.
“Speaker Nograles’s proposal covers only the liberalization of the restrictive economic provisions in order to make the country competitive with other countries in attracting foreign investments, most especially if we consider the current global economic crisis. And therefore the argument that it is intended to extend the term of GMA is certainly and totally misplaced,” Barzaga said.
Nograles had earlier filed House Resolution 737 which calls on the House and Senate to convene into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to amend the 1987 Constitution. Specifically, the resolution aims to amend only Sections 2 and 3, Article 12 of the 1987 Constitution to allow 100-percent foreign ownership of lands.
Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro described the efforts of anti-Chacha forces as “ill-motivated” and only promotes divisiveness in the country.
“The term extension issue of anti-Charter change groups are but ill-motivated. To think that way is only promoting divisiveness in our country. The Philippine Constitution is a 20-year old manifesto and the present global economic turmoil necessitates major amendments with the economic policies implemented in the country,” he said.
He added: “The conditions of 1987 is no longer our current situation, and the laws of the land must adapt to these conditions. Employment opportunities for Filipinos are no longer limited locally but in a global scale due to the technological advances through the years.”
Senator Loren Legarda also urged the administration and its Congress allies to drop the move for charter change and instead focus on strengthening the economy through a “fiscal stimulus package” in the face of the global financial crisis shaking up the world.
“Instead of throwing away hundreds of millions of pesos to efforts to amend the Constitution, which may only be futile because of rejection by the majority of the people, our government should devise a financial stimulus to boost agricultural productivity and help small businessmen to survive from the financial crisis,” Loren declared.
Loren said that the holding of a constituent assembly or convention and later of a nationwide plebiscite to ratify the amendments “would cost hundreds of millions of pesos which should be better directed to the strengthening of the national economy to prevent mass layoffs as well as the further spread of hunger among our people.”
She noted that 40 percent of Filipinos have experienced chronic hunger as found by a recent opinion survey.
“The work required to draft amendments to the Constitution will also divert Congress from enacting urgent and relevant laws to bolster the economy. It is untimely, considering the global financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression, that will also set back our economy. Already we are facing a marked slowdown in our economic growth, resulting in the further spread of poverty and hunger,” Loren said.
The lady senator, who is the new chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, declared that the money that would be used to effect charter change should be allocated instead to farmers and small and medium enterprises to increase agricultural productivity and prevent the folding up of small businesses.
“At present there is a deep dissatisfaction among our farmers because they are not getting enough financial and infrastructure support from the government while much is expected of them to improve productivity. They also strongly resent and deplore the diversion of P780 milllion intended for farm aid to other uses in 2004, allegedly for the benefit of administration politicians in the 2004 elections as shown by the fertilizer scam,” Loren pointed out. “Small businessmen feel neglected because the promised government aid to them still has to be delivered.”
Loren said that the money allocated for charter change could provide a core for a “fiscal stimulus package” to jump-start the economy and prevent a recession that is being experienced by the United States, Japan and Europe.
“Already our export products, like electronics, are in difficult straits because of lower demand from the US and Japan, which are our biggest export destinations,” Loren asserted. “We can help our export industries to modernize so they can become more competitive.”
Gerry Baldo, Pat C. Santos

Philippines: Cha-cha via Con-Ass readied for 2009

This is from the Tribune. You need a special dictionary to interpret some of these Philippine news articles! Cha-cha means Charter change, change to the Philippine constitution. Con-Ass stands for Congressional Assembly. Arroyo is anxious to change the constitution so that she can serve after her term runs out in 2010 but she also is most anxious to sell out the Philippines to foreign investors so she wants to get rid of nationalist provisions in the constitution. She also claims that the change is necessary for successful negotiations with the MILF since the original agreement is against the constitution. However the peace negotiations are going nowhere anyway it seems and it is not clear that changing to a federal system would really satisfy the autonomy wishes of the MILF.


Cha-cha via Con-Ass readied for 2009
10/04/2008
All Malacañang roads lead to Charter change being implemented early next year, with the likely imprimatur of the country’s Supreme Court (SC), as it holds the key to the start of the Cha-cha process.
Despite assurances from Malacañang that President Arroyo will step down in 2010 to make way for her successor, all indications point to the Constitution undergoing a thorough revision to ensure a continued stay in power of Mrs. Arroyo.
This plan to change the Charter was broadly hinted at by one of Mrs. Arroyo’s staunchest allies in the Senate, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.
Santiago yesterday bared before students of Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela, Bulacan, that there are now two “compelling” reasons to change the Constitution, saying that the
first is the “imperative necessity to change the nationalistic provisions” for the Philippines to become globally competitive.
“The present Constitution, in many provisions, is very zealous of the rights of Filipinos to own public land, to exploit our natural resources, and to protect Filipino labor. However, all these nationalistic provisions serve as a barrier to the near-desperate efforts by our business community to attract foreign direct investments.
“It is only natural that a foreign business company will want to own majority control of a corporation that it might establish in our country. We are engaged in cut-throat global competition for foreign investments. But if we continue to limit foreign participation to minority control, naturally they will seek majority control in other countries which allow it,” she told the students at their symposium.
The second compelling reason, Santiago stressed, is that it may be necessary to change from a unitary to a federal system of government, as a solution to “the long-standing issue of Muslim separatism.”
On this, Santiago elaborated by saying that “in providing for the concept of local autonomy, the Constitution fails to satisfy the demands of certain minority sectors in our society. For this reason, the Constitution provides for autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras . But it appears that in Muslim Mindanao, the Muslim leaders insist not only on regional autonomy, but also on much wider authority for their own local government. This could only be achieved, if we adopt the proposal for a federal system of government.
“In a federal system, each state is a virtual state within a state, as in the United States of America.
“It is a system of dual sovereignty. However, we have to be extremely careful that a new constitutional provision shall prohibit absolutely any right of secession on the part of a federated state. Otherwise, the claim to secede by one region might cause a civil war, as it did in the United States.”
It will be recalled that some months back, the President was pushing federalism, as a solution to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) problem, through the grant of an MILF state under a federal system to be worked out as a negotiated peace settlement with the Moro rebels.
This was met with public opposition, and later it was discovered that Mrs. Arroyo had in fact virtually granted the MILF that independent Islamic state within the Philippine state, through a Palace-approved Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) which was later stopped by the high court from being formally signed by the two parties.
That MoA-AD, had it been signed formally, would have forced the nation to change the Charter to fit the demands of the MILF.
At the SC, Solicitor-General Agnes Devanadera, in open arguments, claimed that the President did not know of the conditions contained in the MoA-AD and that she had not authorized its approval or its signing by the peace negotiators.
Government chief negotiator Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, also told the SC that he had initialed the MoA-AD even when he was not authorized by the President to do so.
But lately, it has been disclosed by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez that Mrs. Arroyo, as well as the Cabinet cluster, was well aware of the contents of the MoA-AD prior to the peace panel having initialed it.
The denials were made evidently to protect Mrs. Arroyo from being charged and impeached for treason in the dismemberment of the Republic through the grant of an MILF independent Islamic state.
The President yesterday said that regardless of what the high court decides on this issue, the government will no longer sign the MoA.
“In the light of the recent violent incidents committed by MILF lawless groups, the government will not sign the MoA,” the President stressed at the 107th anniversary celebration of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) at the Army Officer’s Club in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
“We are committed to doing everything possible to bring lasting peace to Mindanao and end 40 years of fighting that has killed more than 120,000 people,” she said.
“It is in the interest of all Filipinos, Muslim and Christians, to end the violence that has held that part of our country back and required an investment of hundreds of millions of pesos to support our military presence there.”
To achieve lasting peace in southern Philippines, all peace talks will be refocused from dialogs with rebels to one with authentic dialogs with both Muslim and Christian communities, the President said.
Under this new policy, armed groups will be held accountable for all their actions and shall have as their overarching aim, the goal of ending all forms of armed rebellion in the country.
“Our people, together with government, will be the primary force in defining the shape and direction of societal change, not the force of arms,” the President stressed.
But even as the MoA-AD is dead in the water, the goal to change the Charter is apparently alive and well.
The House of Representatives has already started the Cha-cha ball rolling, with administration legislators stating that there is need to effect a constitutional change on the economic provisions of the Charter, using the same argument being used today by Santiago: For economic progress through the country’s emergence in global competitiveness.
Santiago hinted broadly that Cha-cha can come about by early next year, through the Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) over which the Supreme Court will have to rule.
As explained by the senator, Cha-cha can be done “not by means of an elected constitutional convention, but by means of turning Congress into a Constituent Assembly.”
She pointed out that if Congress acts as a Con-Ass, the problem on how the three-fourths vote required by the Constitution for Cha-cha should be computed and that this is a question that must be answered.
She adds that “one interpretation is that the senators and representatives should vote separately, but in joint session. The other interpretation is that each chamber should vote separately, in separate sessions.
“Let me make the issue clearer. How shall we compute the three fourths vote necessary to pass Charter change? Should it be three fourths of the votes of 238 representatives, plus the votes of 23 senators, or 261 votes in all? Three-fourths of 261 will mean that Charter change needs 195 votes. Or should it be three-fourths of the Representatives, plus three-fourths of the senators? Three-fourths of the House will mean 178 votes, and three-fourths of the Senate will mean 17 votes. This issue is the subject of heated debates, but the authoritative answer to this paramount threshold question can only be given by the Supreme Court,” Santiago stressed.
It is common knowledge that the high court is packed with Mrs. Arroyo’s partisans, which already count for the majority in the SC. With the early retirement of an associate justice, along with many others retiring by early next year, there will be seven vacancies in the high court for Mrs. Arroyo to fill up with those who will be beholden to her.
While the Senate has rejected the idea of a Con-Ass, it is likely that the Con-Ass plans will bear fruit, as any congressman can bring this issue of joint or separate voting before a high court that is packed with justices vulnerable to the political whims and caprices of Mrs. Arroyo.