With the announcement of House Speaker Jose de Venecia that the house majority is now in favor of ConCon (constitutional convention) instead of con-ass as a means of changing the Philippine Constitution, it seems that those (almost all senators, the CBCP, El Shaddai, etc.) who have vocally expressed their opposition to the con-ass mode of charter change were duped. They did not foresee a plan C after a failed plan a (people’s initiative) and plan b (con-ass without the senate) which earned public outrage. Through plan c (constitutional convention), Charter Change advocates seem to say to those who were against con-ass, “Ok, so you like concon? Let's do concon!!!” By such cunning move, Jose de Venecia proved that he is the quintessential TRAPO master spinner- ever ready to do “areglo” on everything.
Will the CBCP no longer oppose Charter Change through a concon? It must be noted that in a strongly worded press statement entitled “Please. No to Con-Ass, yes to Con-Con” issued by the CBCP President Archbishop Lagdameo on December 5, 2006, the good archbishop said: “We continue to believe that major shifts in the form of government require widespread participation of civilian society, and relative serenity allowing national discussion and debate. This is best done through a Constitutional Convention (CON-CON) where the members are elected by the people precisely for the purpose of framing a new Constitution. We have many illustrious and credible non-politicians who can help frame a new Constitution. A CON-CON might be very expensive, but it is worth spending much for something that is good for the greatest number. And so we say: YES, TO CHA-CHA through CON-CON.” (to read the entire statement, click this: http://www.cbcponline.net/presidents/pleasenotoconassyestoconcon.html )
The question now is whether or not those who opposed the other modes of charter change and favor a constitutional convention are really true to their word or did they merely flaunt what they thought will never be accepted by the charter change proponents? Credibility is at stake here for the CBCP. Never mind the senators, they are all politicians. Never mind the El Shaddai and the Iglesia ni Kristo for they have lost credibility by being partisan all the time. Villanueva’s Jesus is Lord Movement will never be a factor (he could not even muster the solid vote of his members in the last presidential election).
Let us wait and see.
7 comments:
All politicians have their own agenda... CBCP has its own agenda too...
With this development, what is the use of CBCP pushing through with the big rally on Sunday? It will only be used by opportunist politicians and the left. It will be a convergence of different agenda....gagamitin lang nila ang CBCP (sic)
I admire Cardinal Vidal, instead of calling for a prayer rally, he exhorts the parishes to discuss the issues at stake.
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
A call for un-muting: Speak or forever be silent
-Atty. Pilariza Racho-Baldovino
Assistant Professor 7
Chairperson, Humanities Division
Ateneo de Davao University
(An excerpt of a talk I gave before the SAMAPULA, Political Science faculty and students,
13 December 2006, Mini-Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University)
xxx
We can no longer drag our feet and continue this debate on whether we want the Philippine Constitution amended or revised.. We have decided that it should be. The issue now is when we want it. Can we at least settle this once and for all? To start on a clean slate, let the Constitutional Convention be convened after the May 2007 elections. Here, the time is clear, set, and defined. We shall have chosen our political leaders well and we shall have elected only those whose moral integrity matches that of our own.
The 1986 Constitution must go through the scalpel of change. We cannot deny this. But to do so, the rule of law must prevail; there is no shortcut to change. We must extort our people and the government to follow the law; if we do so, then we control the consequences of our choice. The law clearly states which path to tread: people’s initiative, a constituent assembly, or a constitutional convention. Each is a good choice, but each path must be strictly construed. Two choices, however, have been struck down; we should accept this and then move on. We cannot afford to continue listening to oratorical exhortations of false prophets and self-appointed intellectuals turned seers; we must willingly, freely, voluntarily, rationally, and deliberately choose to take control of our lives and the direction of our transformation; we must move on. Read the 1986 Philippine Constitution, know the provisions by heart, and then choose the third path. Here, the essence of truth and democracy still live: we are free to elect competent, brilliant, and heroic leaders to the Constitutional Convention; they will bring our voice to the others. Let not our leaders stamp their legacy on this new Philippine Constitution, rather let us carve our thoughts and ideals into this document, make this fundamental law of our land, our constitution. Let us own it; stamp our souls in every page; let us finally be a people, the “We, the sovereign Filipino people.” Let us “establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations”, a government that “promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony”, a government that moves heaven and earth to “secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and a democracy under the rule of law”, and a government that believes in moral governance and lead us to a “regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.” This is the revised Philippine Constitution we want; this is the document, the covenant between the government and the Filipino people. We will no longer witness our children and their children’s children suffer the ignominy of fragmented governance.
I believe it is not the change in the constitution that we fear; it is the transformation that pre-constitutional change and post-constitutional change demand from us. These phases insist that we open our eyes to the truth, to read and understand our Constitution before we profess to all and sundry that change is needed, that change is reflective of our needs and those of society, and that change is mandatory. To demand change in our Constitution requires time and a free society’s disciplined will to desire to read, to comprehend, to analyze, and to accept the consequences that birth change. Change exacts from us the use of our objective and discerning skills to analyze and to see the causal relation of a revised Philippine Constitution to the Filipino people and our nation’s place in the global village. It extols us to transcend our petty Filipino-ness, our peculiarities, our ethnicities, our ethnokinships, and our personal interest; it commands us to pray for the graces of humility, discernment, and wisdom that we may know right from wrong, that we may opt life from less-life, and ultimately, that we may see God’s Divine Will and Humor in all these.
nice!
Correct ka dyan!!! Duped nga sila dahil si GMA biglan na naman nagsabi ng isusulong ang chacha
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