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SENATORS
crossed party lines on Wednesday to reject Malacañang’s
maneuver to push through Charter changes before the 2010
elections, purportedly to pave the way for a shift to a
federal system in order to accommodate a peace deal with
secessionist rebels in Mindanao.
In the
House of Representatives, a similar bipartisan
resentment prevailed toward what is widely seen as an
administration subterfuge to use the peace process as an
excuse for Charter change benefiting vested interests.
PDP-Laban Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati City, in a
scathing privileged speech, said Charter change to
accommodate the virtual cutting up of the republic
should be rejected “by all means.”
Locsin
slammed the political forces, obviously referring to the
administration, “who wants to give away part of our
country just to keep a grip of what remains.”
Locsin,
who was among the first to warn against the MOA on
learning—before its aborted signing in Malaysia—that it
would have no reference to the Constitution, said on
Wednesday: “No amount of Charter change, however large
the scale of public approval, will ever make it right.
Heck, if all but one Filipino were to vote to give away
part of our country so that it becomes a separate
country, they would all be wrong and a singular voice
opposing it would be right. No people, even unanimously,
I dare say can vote away their own country. This would
be a sovereign suicide,” said Locsin in his speech.
His
speech came even as legislators shifted their focus on
Charter change after Malacañang announced on Tuesday
that it’s “all systems go” for changing the Constitution
to give way to the shift to federal form of government.
Taking
the cue from the Palace, allies of President Arroyo said
they would support the renewed call for a Charter
change.
From all
indications, though, it will be a hard fight.
Administration and opposition senators took a hardline
stance against rushing consideration of Cha-cha
proposals in the chamber after President Arroyo and
other Palace officials abruptly signalled support for
Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.’s Joint Resolution
10, cosponsored by 14 other senators, espousing
federalism.
Pimentel
earlier scored the “hijacking” of his federalism
resolution for dubious goals.
In
separate interviews, a number of Resolution 10’s
coauthors admitted they are now rethinking their earlier
support for it, insisting that Charter changes should
take effect after the next presidential elections to
prevent Malacañang from hijacking Pimentel’s bill to
perpetuate Mrs. Arroyo in power beyond 2010.
Joint
Resolution 10 seeks to convene Congress into a
constituent assembly for the purpose of revising the
Constitution to establish a federal system of
government, indicated they might withdraw their
signatures from the proposal.
Meanwhile, the minority in the Arroyo-dominated House,
particularly the so-called militant bloc, is not about
to give way even as they vowed to block the move to
change the Constitution.
“It’s
all systems go for the anti-Cha-cha movement. Charter
change has consistently been rejected and it will be
rejected once more,” said party-list Rep. Liza Maza of
Gabriela.
Party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis said Mrs.
Arroyo’s renewed push “will surely fuel gigantic
people’s protests.”
“Today,
Ms Arroyo is plagued by the worsening economic and
political crisis manifested by skyrocketing prices of
oil, power, rice and other basic commodities, unresolved
issues of top-level corruption, and widespread unrest,”
said Mariano.
Proadministration legislators suggested that they
discuss it in an all-party summit.
“My
suggestion is for the big parties like Lakas, Kampi [Kabalikat
ng Malayang Pilipino], NP [Nacionalista Party], NPC
[Nationalist People’s Coalition] NPC to come together
in an all-party summit and come up with an accord that
will define the parameters of Charter change so the
exercise will be focused on the provisions that really
need to be revised,” said NPC Rep. Abraham Kahlil Mitra
of Palawan.
Liberal
Party Rep. Paul Daza of Northern Samar said Charter
change will not last forever and it should be responsive
to the changing times.
“Sadly, opposition groups are again beating a dead
horse by insisting that this kind of a Cha-cha is a
Trojan Horse meant to sneak in changes that will extend
the rule of the present Malacañang occupant.
Clearly, the federalism agenda and that baseless fear
have been decoupled by the fact that the prime movers of
the Cha-cha in the Senate are among the President’s
bitterest foes,” Daza said.
Kampi
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga of Cavite said:
“My fear
is that without the parties providing discipline and
guidance, the constitutional assembly might degenerate
into a free-for-all, come-what-may submission of
proposed changes that will result in the overhaul of the
fundamental law instead of the surgical removal or
insertion of provisions that the limited agenda of
federalism and economic changes will require.”
Among
the senator who coauthored Resolution 10 but resented
its hijacking for an administration goal is opposition
Sen. Panfilo Lacson. He favors federalism but if this
will be used by Malacañang “for their own selfish ends,”
the Senate should not rush its approval, Lacson said. He
wants senators to first discuss the implications should
they begin committee hearings on Resolution 10.
Administration Sen. Miguel Zubiri conceded that the
Palace-backed plan to push Cha-cha before 2010 “might be
a difficult pill to swallow” in the wake of growing
suspicions it could be a ploy to extend President
Arroyo’s term. “The question is timing. Many people are
asking if [Cha-cha] is a vehicle to prolong this
administration in power.”
He
confirmed the emerging consensus in the Senate that “if
there would be any amendment it should be after 2010.”
At the
same time, he criticized presidential spokesman Jesus
Dureza’s remarks that flip-flopping senators would be
blamed for the failure of federalism through Charter
change.
Zubiri
echoed sentiments by his colleagues that Malacañang
might be setting up the senators as scapegoats for the
blunders committed by Palace peace negotiators in the
GRP-MILF memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain,
which was kept secret from the Senate.
“For
them to deny us that information, and for them to say we
are to blame if federalism does not succeed is grossly
unfair,” Zubiri told Senate reporters.
Pimentel
shared the suspicions aired by fellow senators about the
Palace ploy about using senators as scapegoats. But
Pimentel said he is not going to withdraw his federalism
proposal amid misgivings by some of his colleagues. “I
will defend it even if other people will support it,” he
said, assuring that he would not allow himself nor his
resolution to be used for devious ends. |
