Christian leaders unite with sectoral groups vs ‘Cha-cha’
By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
AN ANTI-CHARTER CHANGE coalition backed by Christian leaders said yesterday that the Philippine economy remains weak due to bad governance and not because of defects in the 37-year-old Constitution.
The Koalisyon Laban sa Cha-cha, a 30-member coalition convened by civic leaders as well as members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the protestant National Council of Churches in the Philippines, said the 1987 Constitution remains “robust” but is “not fully implemented and completed with the necessary implementing laws.”
The coalition is convened by Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo of the CBCP, Bishop Jonel Milan of the K4Philippines Intercessors Movement, Minnie Anne Mata-Calub of the NCCP, Senator Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Ging Quinto-Deles of Tindig Pilipinas, Josua Mata of Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, and Justine Balane of Akbayan Youth.
“Our legislators blame the Constitution for the poverty of the people. That is not true. Poverty is caused by the brazen and institutionalized,” the coalition said in a statement.
“They say that our economic provisions are prohibitive. That is false. In fact, we are the most liberalized among our Southeast Asian neighbors,” it added.
The Philippines is problematic not because of the Charter but because of “institutionalized corruption,” which reeks of bad governance in the country,” the coalition said. “The leaders we put in power do not fully implement the Constitution because of selfish motives.”
The Constitution was, in fact, the “legacy of the best minds in recent history,” it noted.
“Former president Corazon Aquino gathered the finest citizens of the country to craft the 1987 Constitution to ensure that the country would not experience dictatorship and oppression again,” it said, noting that the country suffered economic and human rights crises under the Martial Law regime of the late former strongman, Ferdinand E. Marcos.
His son and namesake, who won in the 2022 presidential race, has already expressed support for moves to amend the Charter’s economic provisions, saying last month that it was not made for a “globalized world.”
The President’s cousin, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has been linked to a so-called people’s initiative for charter change, a move that would allow both houses of Congress to act as a Constituent Assembly and vote jointly.
The Commission on Elections has already suspended all proceedings related to the initiative, which is being investigated by the Senate.
The company behind the people’s initiative signature campaign and the P55-million TV infomercial promoting Charter change (“Cha-cha”) has been deemed nonexistent since 2004 by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
House lawmakers and senators have been trading barbs over the people’s initiative, with the Senate saying last month that the move goes against democratic processes.
“The Senate once again stands as a bastion of democracy, as it rejects this brazen attempt to violate the Constitution, the country, and our people,” senators said in a strongly-worded statement last month.
At the launch of the new anti- “Cha-cha” coalition, Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel urged citizens to ask senators to drop their support for an economic “Cha-cha.”
Many senators, including Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, support proposals to amend some of the Charter’s economic provisions.
In mid-January, Mr. Zubiri filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, which proposes amendments to ease certain economic provisions of the Constitution, particularly in foreign investments in public utilities and education services.
Mr. Zubiri and his House counterpart, Mr. Romualdez, met with the President along with other politicians during a gathering at Malacañang on Wednesday for the 100th birth anniversary of Juan Ponce Enrile, who advises Mr. Marcos on legal affairs.
The Senate President said he and Mr. Romualdez met briefly and agreed to work professionally and put a hold on their bickering and arguments.
“We had a good meeting with the Speaker earlier, and we agreed to work together to pass legislation for our people, and we set aside differences,” he said.
“We committed to talk to each other, hopefully, next week for a secondary meeting because our meeting earlier was short. We shook hands,” he added.
The Koalisyon Laban sa Cha-cha warned: “[Lawmakers] want to change it (1987 Constitution for selfish motives. They only want to perpetuate themselves and their families in power.”
