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The last time anyone tried to tinker with the 1987 Constitution via
people’s initiative, the so-called “Charter change” bid was
foiled by the Supreme Court. Spearheaded by a lawyer identified with
Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Cha-cha sought to adopt parliamentary
government and further open up the economy to foreigners.
In Lambino v. Comelec, the magistrates ruled
that what JDV and company had in mind was not just an amendment, but
an outright revision of the Constitution. For this, the tribunal
said, a signature campaign would not suffice. Rewriting the basic
law of the land requires a full-blown constitutional convention or
Congress coming together as a constituent assembly, the court added.
Groups opposed to JDV’s PI were relieved that
the Supreme Court did not permit the then-solid ruling coalition to
pull a fast one, which they felt would have allowed the
administration to remain in power indefinitely. But as the
anti-Cha-cha forces celebrated, others detected yet another
opportunity for constitutional amendment via a simpler route.
At the Kapihan sa Sulo media forum Saturday,
Bataan Gov. Enrique “Tet” Garcia unveiled what he described as a
“workable proposal” for Cha-cha through a second PI.
The Union of Local Officials of the Philippines
(ULAP), he said, is “seriously considering [another] people’s
initiative in proposing amendments to the Constitution to change the
present [bicameral] Congress into a unicameral legislative body.
That’s all.”
Garcia said that the presidential form of
government “shall be maintained to uphold the right of voters to
directly elect their chief executive.”
Resistance anticipated
Anticipating resistance from the Senate, he
added that “the incumbent senators shall serve in the unicameral
body until the end of their respective terms.”
For years Malacañang and its allies have tried
to defang the intractable smaller chamber. The senators’
investigations of scandals involving administration figures have
made life miserable for the ruling coalition.
The pro-administration ULAP’s antipathy
for the contrarian Senate is well documented. The governors and
mayors loyal to President Arroyo are wont to dismiss the senators’
independence as obstructionism.
Garcia harped on this theme again last weekend:
“The shift to merge the present two chambers of Congress into a
unicameral body is supported by a vast majority of Filipinos who,
according to local executives, have grown weary of legislative
gridlock.”
Whether or not the rest of the populace shares
ULAP’s dislike for the Senate has yet to be confirmed. In fact,
the opposite is apparent.
In last year’s midterm elections, for
instance, the local executives’ endorsement of the administration
slate failed to stop the opposition from almost sweeping the
senatorial race. In opinion polls, individual senators consistently
earn high public acceptance ratings, in contrast to the abysmal
scores of administration figures—save, of course, for
Vice-President Noli de Castro.
What local executives like Garcia regard as
“legislative gridlock” may actually be what most Filipinos
appreciate the most about the present bicameral legislature—check
and balance.
In a country that has experienced more
than its fair share of executive excesses, Garcia needs to convince
the public that a unicameral legislature would still be able to curb
abuses by the party in power.
Why not an amendment for run-off elections if
only to ensure that whoever wins in the 2010 presidential contest is
elected with a solid majority?
Since 1987 the multiparty system has produced
presidents who could only bank on a plurality of votes, which in
turn gave rise to administrations vulnerable to
“destabilization.”
Going electric
Mayor Edward Hagedorn of Puerto Princesa is one
of a handful of public officials who can be called a true friend of
the environment. For instance, his city has relentlessly sought
solutions to the air pollution problem caused by the ubiquitous
tricycles.
His city council has passed an ordinance that
envisions phasing out tricycles running on noisy, smoke-belching
two-stroke engines and their replacement with four-stroke
powerhouses. Puerto Princesa has also adopted a “color-coding”
scheme, which has successfully halved the number of tricycles on the
road at any given time.
Hagedorn has taken his antipollution
campaign further by launching “Trikebayan,” which runs on an
electric motor that emits no exhaust and generates none of the
ear-splitting racket of conventional tricycles.
Designed by Rolando Concepcion, the Trikebayan
is powered by electric batteries that can be recharged in any
household 220-volt outlet for about four hours.
Converting the two-stroke gasoline engine of a
conventional tricycle to a Trikebayan would cost about P65,000—a
hefty sum for ordinary tricycle operators and drivers. But Hagedorn
said his city has devised a financing scheme to help encourage the
mass conversion of the most popular form of public transport in
Puerto Princesa.
Now, if only our other local officials were just
as innovative and environment-friendly...
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