Senators warned Friday of a bloody struggle if the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in collaboration with its allies at the House of Representatives, goes on with its plan for a charter change. It is widely believed that the primary purpose of the initiative to revise the Constitution is to change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary, with the ultimate goal of continuing the president’s hold to power beyond the expiration of her term in 2010.
As of Friday morning, at least 163 lawmakers (only 33 less than the required 196), have signed a resolution calling on the Senate and the House to convene as a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution. Once the resolution gathers the required signatures, the proponents will elevate it to the Supreme Court (SC) for a ruling on how the two houses of Congress should vote in convening a constituent assembly – jointly or separately.
If the SC says that Congress should vote separately, the resolution is doomed considering that most of the senators are against it. As Sen. Joker Arroyo would put it, “There will be blood. They can pursue it over our dead body. I will oppose it. I am against it. It is not proper at this time. It is dead in the water”. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. also warned that this unilateral action by the Lower House “would be bloody, figuratively speaking”.
It is also expected that four potential presidential candidates, former Sen. Pres. Manny Villar, Senators Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Araneta Roxas (MAR) and Loren Legarda, would be at the forefront of the bloody battle. A shift to the parliamentary system would certainly thwart their ambitions for the presidency of the country.
However, with administration ally Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile newly installed as senate president (after a coup instigated by the three other “presidentiables” against Villar), it is logical to assume that the Senate would be slightly friendlier, and thus might, just might, change its collective stand.
It is also interesting to note that, with respect to the charter change, the Lacson-Roxas-Legarda trio, acted as the prime mover in installing administration-friendly Enrile. Charter change would be a little certain if abetted by an administration-friendly senate leadership. Was the troika too confident that any charter change initiative would not pass even in an Enrile-led Senate? But then, they could always conspire again to depose Enrile and replace him with either Pimentel or Arroyo, if they have the number.
If the High Court says that Congress should vote jointly, it is likely that charter change would breeze through a House-dominated constituent assembly, paving the way for a shift to a parliamentary, perhaps even a federal-parliamentary system, under Prime Minister Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Thus, the single biggest hurdle for charter change at the moment is the Supreme Court. But with seven senior justices retiring next year, anti-Arroyo forces fear that the President would appoint magistrates who are malleable, if not outright friendly. If that happens, it is anticipated that the usual anti-Gloria crowd (a fragmented and incredible opposition, highly dogmatized and perennially noisy leftists, unfavored businessmen, biased media outlets and holier-than-thou characters, among others) would raise hell once again.
But without a central figure to rally to, coupled with the Filipinos’ innate passiveness and indifference (a most recent example of which is their lukewarm, even cynical reaction to former House Speaker Joe de Venecia’s testimony in Congress regarding the latest impeachment case against Arroyo), the anti-Gloria forces would once again fail to stimulate the people.
As of Friday morning, at least 163 lawmakers (only 33 less than the required 196), have signed a resolution calling on the Senate and the House to convene as a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution. Once the resolution gathers the required signatures, the proponents will elevate it to the Supreme Court (SC) for a ruling on how the two houses of Congress should vote in convening a constituent assembly – jointly or separately.
If the SC says that Congress should vote separately, the resolution is doomed considering that most of the senators are against it. As Sen. Joker Arroyo would put it, “There will be blood. They can pursue it over our dead body. I will oppose it. I am against it. It is not proper at this time. It is dead in the water”. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. also warned that this unilateral action by the Lower House “would be bloody, figuratively speaking”.
It is also expected that four potential presidential candidates, former Sen. Pres. Manny Villar, Senators Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Araneta Roxas (MAR) and Loren Legarda, would be at the forefront of the bloody battle. A shift to the parliamentary system would certainly thwart their ambitions for the presidency of the country.
However, with administration ally Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile newly installed as senate president (after a coup instigated by the three other “presidentiables” against Villar), it is logical to assume that the Senate would be slightly friendlier, and thus might, just might, change its collective stand.
It is also interesting to note that, with respect to the charter change, the Lacson-Roxas-Legarda trio, acted as the prime mover in installing administration-friendly Enrile. Charter change would be a little certain if abetted by an administration-friendly senate leadership. Was the troika too confident that any charter change initiative would not pass even in an Enrile-led Senate? But then, they could always conspire again to depose Enrile and replace him with either Pimentel or Arroyo, if they have the number.
If the High Court says that Congress should vote jointly, it is likely that charter change would breeze through a House-dominated constituent assembly, paving the way for a shift to a parliamentary, perhaps even a federal-parliamentary system, under Prime Minister Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Thus, the single biggest hurdle for charter change at the moment is the Supreme Court. But with seven senior justices retiring next year, anti-Arroyo forces fear that the President would appoint magistrates who are malleable, if not outright friendly. If that happens, it is anticipated that the usual anti-Gloria crowd (a fragmented and incredible opposition, highly dogmatized and perennially noisy leftists, unfavored businessmen, biased media outlets and holier-than-thou characters, among others) would raise hell once again.
But without a central figure to rally to, coupled with the Filipinos’ innate passiveness and indifference (a most recent example of which is their lukewarm, even cynical reaction to former House Speaker Joe de Venecia’s testimony in Congress regarding the latest impeachment case against Arroyo), the anti-Gloria forces would once again fail to stimulate the people.
Meanwhile, life goes on.
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1 comments:
yes, there will be blood. and senator Mar Roxas cannot stand it anymore. he was heard cursing at the interfaith anti-cha-cha rally last friday. :D
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