Referendum on Charter change proposed
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated July 03, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - A senior member of the House of Representatives is pushing for a referendum on the
Charter change (Cha-cha) proposal before a formal congressional discussion on the issue.
Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, an ally of President Aquino, made the proposal a day after former
president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed a resolution proposing the convening of a
constitutional convention to amend the Constitution.
Gonzales said he would file his own resolution next week to ask the House and the Senate to schedule a
referendum on Cha-cha.
“The matter of amending the Constitution is always a controversial issue. Once we tackle it, there will be
acrimonious debates that will sidetrack us from focusing on legislative proposals that would carry out the
pronouncements President Noynoy made in his inaugural address,” he said.
“Those proposals should be our priority,” he said.
He noted that the Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations tried to push for Cha-cha but that their efforts
failed because the nation was divided on the matter of changing the Constitution.
“As of now, we really do not know the public pulse on the issue. If we consult our people on Cha-cha, we will
know their sentiments and we will have the mandate to work on Cha-cha or to bury it in the graveyard,” he
stressed.
To save on cost, Gonzales proposed that the referendum be conducted simultaneously with the election of
barangay or village officials in October.
He also said Mrs. Arroyo’s proposal would go through the normal legislative process.
“It will be referred to the committee on constitutional amendments, once it is organized. The committee will
have to conduct hearings and decide what to do with it,” he said.
Most likely, he said the former president’s proposal and his resolution would be tackled at the committee
level simultaneously.
Gonzales was senior deputy majority leader of the House in the last Congress. In the current Congress, he
is the Liberal Party’s candidate for majority leader, while Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is the party’
s choice for speaker.
For his part, Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna said “the cat is finally out of the bag” with Arroyo’s filing of
Cha-cha resolution,
“Cha-cha has always been her game plan. She wants to shift the nation to the parliamentary system so she
could be prime minister and regain her immunity from criminal prosecution,” he said.
He said he believes that Mrs. Arroyo’s Cha-cha “is dead on arrival at the House.”
“If Cha-cha did not succeed during Mrs. Arroyo’s nine years in office, it has no chance of succeeding under
the administration of President Aquino, who I think will not allow a mangling of the basic law written during
his mother’s watch,” he said.
The Constitution was drafted in 1986 by a commission formed by then President Corazon Aquino. It was
approved in 1987.
Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, who belongs to the LP, said their party would soon meet to take a stand on
Cha-cha.
Not bothered
President Aquino belittled Arroyo’s filing of a resolution on Cha-cha but ordered the creation of a
commission to study the matter.
“We have to check if there is a need for it. It has to be proven that the gains are better than the risks. We will
form a commission to study the need for it and whether the people are requesting for it,” he told reporters at
Camp Aguinaldo.
Mr. Aquino also stressed that changing the fundamental law of the land is not among his priorities at this
point.
“The first priority has to be reviewing the fiscal situation of the country. What’s really left in the nation’s coffers
to spend for the people’s needs,” he said, pointing out that it is no joke to propose amendments to the
Constitution.
He said changing the Charter at this point has “guaranteed negative consequences” in the short term.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan lauded the President’s order for an independent commission to study Charter
change.
“Even before former President Arroyo filed her resolution, he (President Aquino) said he will study this
Charter change proposal,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan said Charter change has long been an issue in the country but the timing remains in question.
“My personal position is I am against a parliamentary form of government... what is important is the political
leadership rather than the form of government. There have been debates about this around the world. In the
final analysis, it depends on the credibility of the leaders,” Pangilinan said.
If he becomes Senate president, Pangilinan said Cha-cha will not be on top of the legislative agenda but
they will have to act on it once a resolution is introduced by his colleagues.
“We will review any Cha-cha resolution and we will wait on the recommendations of Malacañang. But this
will not stop any senator from filing any resolution and then it will have to go through the regular process,”
Pangilinan said.
Open mind
Sen. Edgardo Angara, for his part, urged the people to keep an open mind on Charter change regardless of
who is behind the initiative.
“For me, the most economical, effective and fastest method is the constituent assembly and whatever is
decided would still have to be ratified,” Angara said over dwIZ.
Angara noted that he has always been supportive of amendments to the Constitution, particularly on the
economic provisions, which he said were too restrictive.
He emphasized that whatever amendments are approved by Congress would have to be ratified.
Angara said that best time to introduce and tackle amendments to the Constitution would be now when the
new administration has just started.
Support likely
For Bayan Muna’s Casiño, Rep. Arroyo may gain support for her Charter bid after all.
Casiño said Mrs. Arroyo’s proposed House Resolution No. 8 was similar to previous measures filed by the
LP and several senators calling for a constitutional convention.
“So it (Mrs. Arroyo’s resolution) will most likely have significant support in Congress,” Casiño said. “This
makes the shift to a parliamentary government and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s prime ministership a distinct
possibility,” he said.
He said it did not matter whether it was Rep. Arroyo or some other lawmakers who filed the resolution.
“At the end of the day, what will matter is self interest and what the Palace wants. GMA’s resolution will just
be one of many for Cha-cha,” he said.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a close ally of Rep. Arroyo, said the former president had no hidden agenda in
filing the resolution.
“It’s good that she filed the resolution this early because the previous proposals on Charter change were
tackled by Congress when the terms of the legislators and the President were about to end so there were
always suspicions from the people that there is some hidden agenda,” Lagman said.
“Now this (resolution) has been filed early and we can deliberate on this well and people would not be that
suspicious,” he said.
“We must be open-minded and remember that this is not just a bill from Lakas-Kampi-CMD and will be
discussed by 287 members of the House,” he said.
Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III of the LP said he would oppose the resolution unless otherwise instructed
by the party.
“I don’t believe the Constitution is the cause for the lack of development in the economy. I am also not in
favor of a unicameral form of government,” he said.
No time yet
Noted constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, meanwhile, said lawmakers are unlikely to discuss the Cha-cha
issue this year because of other more pressing issues.
“It is kind of expected that she would do this but it is still a little early. I doubt very much it will prosper this
year. I doubt it will get going this year,” Bernas said.
“I think people will be organizing and they would probably pay attention to the more immediate needs of the
nation, legislation needed like poverty alleviation, corruption and things like that,” he said.
However, he admitted that it would be up to Congress if they want to stop the Cha-cha train.
When asked why Rep. Arroyo was pushing for constitutional change, the priest said, “She loves the country
and she wants to improve the Constitution.”
“I’m wondering why she’s doing it... Probably she’s feeling heroic and she feels this is the thing most
needed by the country. You know like they’re asking me, ‘Can the president run for Congress, for a lower
position? Yes, if that president is that humble’.”
For retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Rep. Arroyo’s filing of the Cha-cha resolution showed
“she insists on being disgusting and distrusted.”
“This has been her long cherished dream and frankly it’s a pity she does not know when to stop,” Cruz said.
With Eva Visperas, Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Christina Mendez and Delon Porcalla
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