POLITICAL ALLIES of President Rodrigo Duterte are pushing - in the middle of the pandemic - for amendments in the Constitution ahead of national elections next year.
The move was strongly opposed by various groups and other
lawmakers, saying it was ill-timed because the country is still struggling to
battle the spread of Covid-19. It also raises suspicion that those who are
pushing in tinkering the Constitution may have political agenda.
Senator Franklin Drilon and members of the so-called
Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives claimed that pushing reforms was
bad timing in times of a pandemic and that it was only a gateway for term
extension.
Rep. Carlos Zarate, of the Makabayan bloc, said the revival
of debates in both chambers of Congress was being used as a smokescreen to keep
the Duterte administration in power in preparation for the national elections.
But Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque was quick to douse
speculations, saying that Duterte does not interfere in Congress, citing the separation
of powers of the Executive branch from the Legislative branch.
“Hindi naman kinakailangang bigyan ng basbas ng Presidente
iyan – iyan naman po’y katungkulan talaga ng Kongreso. Tanging Kongreso lang po
ang pupuwedeng magsimula ng proseso para sa charter change, hindi po ang
Presidente. So niri-respeto po natin iyan at sa ngayon po ang number one
priority natin ang Covid-19 lalung-lalo na ang usaping vaccine.”
“So wala pong ibang top priority ang Pangulo kung hindi
matapos po itong pandemyang ito sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng bakuna sa ating
mga kababayan,” he said.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government also
posted on its website a news release from the Constitutional Reform (CORE)
Movement which parried criticisms on the new talks on Constitutional
amendments, saying those who opposed it have only misled the public on the
nature of the amendments being sought.
“It’s not Cha-cha. It’s Constitutional Reform or CORE, which
means amending only certain provisions in the 1987 Constitution,” said lawyer
Vicente Homer Revil, CORE national chairperson.
“Amendments to cure the ambiguity in the current system and
reforms designed to make the country stronger, attuned to the needs of the
current times, most especially in the new normal set-up,” Revil said.
Revil brushed aside the opposition posed by Drilon and the
Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives to the resumption of
congressional hearings on proposals to amend restrictive economic provisions in
the Charter and to convene both Houses of Congress as a constituent assembly.
But Revil claimed that Drilon and his allies were just
trying to muddle the issue of constitutional reforms by invoking the urgency to
solve the pandemic which is the actual priority of the Duterte administration.
He said the opposition merely wanted to deny the people the
benefits of a more vibrant investment climate should amendments took into
place. “There is no right timing to remove ‘restrictive’ economic provisions in
the Constitution than now so that Filipinos could benefit from a more
responsive and attuned time,” Revil said.
Revil further said that amendments to the economic
provisions would bring about much-needed foreign direct investments and
employment opportunities for the people. He said the restrictions on foreign
investment constraint the growth of the economy, which has suffered in decades
due to low capitalization, high unemployment rate, poor infrastructures, and
non-inclusive development.
“As such, protectionist provisions that limit foreign
ownership do not promote healthy competition in a dynamic global economy,”
Revil pointed out.
He added that the CORE Movement is only pushing for
“strategic amendments” that are critical in improving competitions with other
countries, empowering the regions, strengthening the powers of local
governments, among others.
“We all seek reforms in our society and yet we refuse to put
them into our Constitution. We continuously freeze action on the changes we
need to do in our society because we fear that the restrictions will affect us
first before anyone else,” Revil said.
Revolutionary
Government
Another group, the “Mayor
Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee” or MRRD-NECC is
also campaigning for the establishment of a Duterte-led “revolutionary
government.”
The group said having a revolutionary
government will help fast-track the establishment of federalism before
Duterte’s term ends in 2022. The group said a revolutionary government is the
way to go to heal “all the ills of our society” without amending the 1987
Constitution.
In November 2017, Duterte threatened to
declare a revolutionary government if his political opponents tried to oust him
from power. He also cited the precedent set by Corazon Aquino, who established
a revolutionary government soon after leading an uprising in 1986 that ended
the Marcos dictatorship.
Aquino sacked all elected officials,
abolished Congress and tore up the 1973 Constitution in favor of a provisional
charter. She handpicked a commission to write a new Constitution, which was
ratified by plebiscite in 1987.
Federalism
Duterte repeatedly vowed to push for a
change in form of government – from presidential system to federal – and even
threatened to make Mindanao a federal region if lawmakers fail to amend the
Constitution to pave the way for new federal government.
He said the current unitary system has spelled
so much trouble. When he was mayor in Davao City in southern Philippines,
Duterte had been strongly campaigning for the establishment of a federal form
of government and in many of his public appearances and speeches he said
federalism is the next best thing for the country.
In 2019, Duterte warned his critics that he
would declare a revolutionary government and arrest his detractors if he is
pushed against the wall. “I have enough problems with criminality, drugs,
rebellion and all, but if you push me to the extreme, I will declare the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and I will arrest all of you,” he said.
(Mindanao Examiner)
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