The Philippine Online Chronicles

Christmas is once again up in the air. And so is Charter change. With barely a month before Congress goes into a break for the holiday season, a bill seeking to amend the Constitution through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) made it to the House plenary last Nov. 18, only a step away from being endorsed to the Senate.

Sponsored by La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, House Bill 6975 calls for the election of delegates to the convention that will propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution. The convention was initially proposed to take place simultaneously with the presidential election in May, but the House panel on constitutional amendments later agreed to hold it simultaneously with the barangay elections on Oct. 25, 2010.

With the adoption of Con-Con, critics said the Cha-cha tune is once again revived, ready to go full blast anytime soon. Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño said in an article “the House is now taking two approaches to pursue Cha-cha.” Arroyo allies in Congress formerly preferred the Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) resolution, which was railroaded in June and has since been stuck at the House of Representatives as it faced huge opposition from different sectors. Now that Con-Con is apparently racing with time before the 2010 elections, it becomes clear that Arroyo and her allies are pursuing what they called “Plan B” for Cha-cha, which may prove to be in sync with Arroyo’s plan to run for a Congress seat.

Unpassable route

But before Con-Con slithered to the plenary, Con-Ass squeaked by and got the approval of the House in a marathon session during the wee hours of June 3 through HR 1109.

Speaker Prospero Nograles admitted that the President gave her “tacit approval” for the passage of the Con-Ass resolution, an inquirer.net article reported. Under the said Con-Ass resolution, which was also principally sponsored by Rep. Ortega, members of the House and Senate would convene itself into a constituent assembly and would vote jointly, not separately, to amend the Constitution. The Senate, for its part, said the following day that it would simply sit on HR 1109 once it is transmitted to them and would urge the Supreme Court to do the same. Outside the halls of both chambers of Congress, a massive anti-Con-Ass movement was brewing.

On the day Con-Ass was approved at the House, multi-sectoral alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) led various protest actions against the railroading of the HR 1109. In a statement, it said that the “measure has reinforced legitimate fears that the Arroyo regime intends to perpetuate itself in power beyond 2010.” Rep. Satur Ocampo, meanwhile, warned that the Arroyo administration should not make the mistake of convening a Con-Ass, for it would be a political suicide, inquirer reported. The following days saw a series of huge protests, drawing more sectors to unite against Con-Ass.

The anti-Con-Ass movement went to its peak on the ninth State of Nation Address (SONA) of President Arroyo on July 27, wherein Con-Ass was initially feared to take place. But the groundswell of opposition apparently forced the Palace to backtrack from the Con-Ass route and consider the less controversial option: Con-Con.

Right after Arroyo’s SONA, Arroyo allies led by Rep. Ortega broke news that they are eyeing Con-Con as an alternative to Con-Ass. In less than two weeks, Arroyo’s Cha-cha train shifted gear without much political noise.

A time bomb is in the House

On Aug. 11, the House committee on constitutional amendments opened the other route to Cha-Cha at it consolidated all bills and resolutions calling for a constitutional convention, Newsbreak reported. But as early as May, Con-Con has been a viable option for Arroyo allies in Congress since it will “remove doubts that we are motivated by self-interest in pursuing Cha-cha.”

On Aug. 27, the House panel approved the resolution which calls for the election of delegates to a Con-Con. Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., a member of the Constitutional Commission which drafted the present Constitution, defined Con-Con in a column as that which “consists of members chosen by the sovereign people precisely for the purpose of reviewing the existing constitution.” In other words, delegates to the convention should be elected in a separate election, and should not come from any public office.

A month later, the House panel approved a P2-billion allocation for the conduct of Con-Con in 2010, according to philstar.com. It was reported that “P884.1 million would be earmarked for personnel services for delegates and their staff members; P174.6 million for secretariat officials’ and employees’ salaries and benefits,” while the rest would be for maintenance, capital outlay and contingency fund. Rep. Ortega estimated that rentals for the Con-Con would run to at least P25 million a year.

Right now, the Con-Con measure is awaiting plenary discussion and approval, after which it would be transmitted to the Senate.

For Arroyo’s allies in Congress, the proposal, which seeks charter amendments after the elections, is more acceptable to the Senate and to the people. Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco hopes “the House move would trigger the upper chamber to act of the constitutional convention measures.” Speaker Nograles also gave his nod for Con-Con, saying that all those that he talked to want Con-Con. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno even asserted that “what is clear right now is that after next year’s elections, there will be strong pressure for Charter change.”

But labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno warned in a statement that with the renewed push for Cha-cha via Con-Con, “Arroyo’s allies at the House of Representatives are hurriedly planting a time bomb to clear the way for Arroyo’s bid to be prime minister in October next year.” It said that Con-Con “will pave the way for a parliamentary system wherein Arroyo becomes prime minister and the elected president becomes a mere symbolic leader.”

Not surprisingly, former Defense chief and administration standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr., vowed to push for Con-Con as his main agenda. Teodoro said that if he gets elected as president, he would immediately propose to the incoming Congress the convening of a Con-Con to rewrite the Constitution. He said his envisioned one-chamber legislature would be composed of members elected from congressional districts.

In this setup, there is no doubt Teodoro is pertaining to a shift to parliamentary system, a shift many fear would make Arroyo the prime minister if she snatches a congressional seat in the coming elections.

Cha-cha for economic plunder

In the same article, Teodoro mentioned “a Con-Con would be a capital investment for the country’s future,” saying that constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership should be lifted and that foreigners should be allowed to own land for commercial, industrial and tourism development purposes.”

Speaker Nograles has echoed the same intent even before Con-Ass and Con-Con made their way into plenary through House Resolution 737. Under the resolution, Nograles calls for the amendment of Sections 2 and 3 of 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.” Unlike Con-Ass and Con-Con, HR 737 will be passed and implemented like any other bill passed in Congress without any added processes.

Independent think tank IBON Foundation branded HR 737 as “politically deplorable” and “economically harmful.” It said that Nograles’ version of Cha-cha will pave the way for the “eventual insertion of other amendments that will allow Pres. Gloria Arroyo to remain in power beyond 2010” while foreign land ownership will grant “greater foreign control of the domestic economy.”

Meanwhile, KMU said in a statement that the resolution is “a dire effort to please the US to support Gloria Arroyo’s term extension.”

At present, the Cha Charter initiatives (Con-Ass, Con-Con and HR 737) have yet to make their way to the Senate. Of the three, Con-Ass has the lead yet the least preference at the moment, while Con-Con has the support of top presidential aspirants like Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Sen. Manuel Villar. HR 737 remains at the background, only awaiting plenary approval.

Apparently, Con-Con is the one gathering steam at the House. In the coming days, the whole nation may be rocked again by betrayal. Only the President knows what will happen next.

Photo taken from arkibongbayan.org