Less than 18 months into the end of the Duterte presidency, the president’s allies in both Houses of Congress have revived the ticklish issue of Charter change (Cha-cha). Pushing for the amendment of our fundamental law at a time when our country and the current leadership is preoccupied with the most serious health and economic crises gripping our nation unduly taxes our incredulity. We have not even officially secured a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and here we are girding to grapple with another monstrous issue, which may distract us from our efforts to overcome the pandemic.
The country has yet to emerge from the longest lockdown and our political leaders are planning to lock us in a new controversy that without doubt would be contentious and divisive. Amending the Charter is a complex process that requires full and extensive participation of all. Public discussions of the proposed amendments are mandatory to ensure that the Charter reforms will be for the public good. We cannot just leave it to the politicians whose motives have long been held suspect. The timing of the filing of the Resolution of Both Houses 2 authored by two of the President’s staunchest allies in the Senate and by the House leadership towards the end of the President’s term is deeply disconcerting. While President Duterte may not be interested in lifting the term limits, his rabid supporters may have other objectives other than the economic amendments. Admittedly, there is popular support to pursue the economic reforms to spur foreign investments in our economy. But there is greater apprehension that unless there are adequate safeguards, a move to amend our constitution may only open a Pandora’s box and give way to the sinister plot of some unscrupulous legislators. I share Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s concern that “when we open the valve to amend the constitution, especially via a constituent assembly, nobody, not even the highest officials of the three branches of government can choose, much less assure which provisions may be amended or not.” This fear is not abated by the proposal embodied in the Resolution to convene the 18th Congress as a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution. We had recently seen how a less independent Congress had acted to deny ABS-CBN its franchise application. Despite the overwhelming public clamor favoring the grant of a legislative franchise to ABS-CBN, the Lower House disregarded the desire and interest of the very people they purport to represent. Entrusting the current Congress the critical task of amending our Charter will give sleepless nights to many people. What is the assurance that the members of the Constituent Assembly, once they are empowered to introduce reforms to the Constitution, will not tinker with the other provisions that will only serve their own interests? What will stop them from lifting the term limits or extending their term of office?
Several legislators from both chambers have weighed in on this crucial subject. Expectedly, those who belong to the opposition and independent-minded solons are lukewarm to, if not totally unsupportive of, the Charter change now. Tackling such an important issue now will be disruptive and divert the government’s attention from its main task of defeating the pandemic. Likewise, they are highly suspicious of any hidden agenda, which the proponents of the measure may be harboring to advance their selfish design. The fact that this crucial matter is being pursued on the heels of the forthcoming election is truly disquieting. If I recall correctly, in December 2019, Representative Rufus Rodriguez, then Chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, had undertaken serious efforts to amend our Constitution. In fact, his Committee was already poised to conduct public hearings to take up the proposals easing the restrictions on foreign investments and the related economic provisions and lifting the term limits of elected public officials. The plan was to hold the public hearings from January 2020 to March 2020 and convene the 18th Congress into a Constituent Assembly to formally take up the process of revising the 1987 Charter. But as the saying goes, even the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry. The coronavirus spoiled the fun by coming unannounced at the beginning of 2020. The first suspected case in the Philippines was first investigated on January 22, 2020 and hundreds of suspected cases were reported by March 1, 2020. The pandemic had ditched the Cha-cha, and the virus is still very much with us. It defies reason why we should do it now when our hands are full and our resources are drained battling this rampaging pandemic. Our Republic and its 110 million subjects will be best served if our government can properly identify its priorities. All our task forces formed to address our current emergency can hardly cope with the problems at hand. We cannot afford to open up another front, which will sap and dissipate our finite resources and capacity. This government will be judged and defined not by the ill-timed changes to our Charter but by how it deals with the greatest peril that has confronted our nation. So let’s stop the music and cancel the dance.