"The political and economic situations these days tell us the timing for charter change is bad."
"The political and economic situations these days tell us the timing for charter change is bad."
Through the “clamor” of the League of Municipalities, speaking through its president, Narvacan mayor and former governor, congressman, and still kingpin of Ilocos Sur, Luis “Chavit” Singson, charter change is once again served on the political table.
El Chavit wants the Mandanas ruling by the Supreme Court on the issue of LGUs’ share of the total national tax intake, enshrined as constitutional fiat. As every law student knows, a Supreme Court ruling becomes part of the law of the land, and the Mandanas ruling remains hollow only because it has not been implemented.
The national government will find it most difficult to implement the ruling especially in this crisis. We are cash-strapped, period. What the mayors through El Chavit want is like squeezing blood from stone, but enshrined in the Constitution, it binds every other successor to the president.
El Chavit and his mayors also re-posit a long-held criticism of the 1987 Constitution as too restrictive of foreign investments. His former buddy, President Joseph Estrada wanted the Constitution revised as early as 1999, on his second year in office.
Cha-cha then was labelled “Concord” or “constitutional correction for development.” To be sure, it was not announced as platform when then Vice-President Estrada was campaigning for the presidency. Rather, it came after his visits to Asean countries, particularly Thailand, where he was impressed by the massive foreign investments pouring into the kingdom because of relaxed policies on land ownership and foreign capital.
Before him, Pres. Ramos also tried, through his eminence gris, National Security Adviser Jose Almonte, to push for constitutional revision, using “PIRMA” or people’s initiative as vehicle in 1997.
Erap thought that in 1999, when he was yet at the peak of his popularity, having won some 40% of the national vote a year before, the time was right for needed constitutional reforms. FVR and Joe Almonte in 1997 were suspected to be interested in lifting the term limit for the presidency. The Roman Catholic Church, principally then Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, rounded up support from all sectors to thwart the attempt to revise Cory’s Constitution. Massive anti-chacha rallies were mounted, and FVR relented.
Timing was off and too late when FVR’s Almonte pushed constitutional change, but Erap’s attempt one year into his presidency had the element of right timing.
Still, the political cardinal of the numerous church rallied the former president, Cory Aquino, the religious, the Makati Business Club and other “oligarchs”, along with media power, to fight against any attempt to alter Cory’s constitution. The motives sprang from a condescending dislike for the incumbent president.
I was then the presidential adviser on political affairs, concurrent with being general manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority, and together with then DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno, we had a “politburo” in an office in Makati to plan and operationalize a communications campaign to increase public acceptance of Concord.
I asked Pres. Estrada’s approval for a nationwide series of information campaigns, where cabinet members and/or their undersecretaries (we chose those who were skilled communicators) would preach the need for constitutional reform. Tri-media infomercials were produced.
Right after Cardinal Sin and his minions attacked Erap on the issue, we saw the September survey numbers: 70 percent were against charter change. This, despite the fact that the proponent was a highly popular president. But in December, the tide was shifting, slowly but surely. We were doing 43 percent acceptance, reversing the tide of public sentiment.
In mid-January of 2000, President Estrada suddenly surrendered, and in a press conference called at Malacanang, he withdrew the constitutional reform initiative. I was so disgusted at the move, which came all too sudden, upon the advice of his economic managers principally. Days later, in a one-on-one meeting at his office, I asked him why he retreated.
In respectful tone, I told him in a mix of Tagalog and English, “Mr. President, hindi po tayo dapat umatras. Your political detractors (I specified Cardinal Sin) have tasted blood. This may not be the end of it.” Those words became prophetic after El Chavit exploded his jueteng bombshell. The same cabal of conspirators against cha-cha managed to get Erap packing.
Fast forward to President GMA, who likewise launched a people’s initiative in 2008 through 2009, an attempt called Sigaw ng Bayan. The Senate would not budge; the Supreme Court ruled against it. Again, the suspicion was that GMA wanted to rule forever, and since the Hello Garci dark episode, her unpopularity was never reversed.
Today, El Chavit likewise floats the need for lifting term limits for local government officials, sensibly stating that three years are too short for proper governance, a proposition I am in full agreement with.
Still again, the timing may be quite off, as both Speaker Alan Cayetano and DILG Secretary Ano remarked. It is less than two years before the president’s term ends, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution. Worse, there is a pandemic that our health officials and many others cannot seem to tame. The toll on the economy and people’s livelihood has been a mortal wound.
Perhaps if Pres. Duterte launched charter change with better planning and more resolve in 2016, not necessarily for a shift to the federal system, but to revise a charter so full of flaws and inconsistencies, we would be unveiling a revised charter by now. Unlike Erap, Duterte once he resolves, is not likely to blink.
The political and economic situation these days tell us that it may be too late in the day.
