Should We 'cha-cha' Our Way Out?

Throughout the whole history of the Philippine Constitution, there have been few versions of it, all of which are entirely different from each other. The 1987 Constitution, the one that restored democracy after being under authoritarian rule, is also being eyed to be changed today. Considering that the Constitution is basically the supreme law of the land, proposing amendments or drafting a new constitution will not be an easy task—especially now that we are facing a much bigger problem (news flash: we have a pandemic!).

Observation

From all of the interviews* I conducted with five persons, they each have their own opinions about the matter but it all boils down to a stand that the government should prioritize solving the issues brought by the pandemic instead of pushing for charter change (cha-cha).

In short, pandemic response > anything else.

Martha Encarnacion

Ms. Martha is currently working in Sitel as a call center agent. She acknowledged that various perspectives and opinions exist about whether or not charter change should push through. She mainly spoke about the economy of the Philippines and how there seem to be fewer job opportunities for the masses even though many cities are now highly urbanized. In her exact words: Nagiging dayuhan ang mga Pilipino sa ating bansa. For Martha, revising the Constitution is not an answer because it is only being used by the politicians to remain or return to power. No form of government would work if those same politicians are still sitting in their positions, gaining more and more power for their personal pursuits.

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Jean Zyra Cabugos

Ms. Zyra has been a housewife ever since she gave birth to her eldest son. Now that she and her husband are taking care of two kids, it is time for her to seek jobs and the pandemic will not stop her from it. She said that she favors charter change as long as [emphasis added] it will benefit everyone to exercise their rights regardless of social status. She cited an instance where the poor will be heavily penalized for a certain act; but if the rich did the same act, the government itself will defend them and the rich remain free and protected. She was also skeptical about the government officials who are responsible for its amendment, expressing distrust.

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Joey Luna

Mr. Joey is an accountant and similarly to the previous ones, he also disagrees with changing the constitution. For him, focusing on anything but the pandemic does not help especially with the economy of the country. With regards to the shifting to a federal government, he stated that further research and analysis should be done and it should address the common good. Since the government body will be decentralized, poor areas may be at a disadvantage because they cannot compete with neighboring areas that were already modernized.

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Grace Velasco

Ms. Grace works as an Assistant Manager in a private company. According to her, charter change may just be a pretext by the filthy politicians to abuse their power. Even with the existing Constitution, a number of its provisions are still not familiar to the public. With or without the pandemic, charter change is not an emergency. Plus, we all know that those government officials sitting in power may just use this for their hidden agendas.

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Jesus Cabrera

Mr. Jesus was the former head of the Accounting Department in Health Maintenance Inc. (HMI) for many years before his retirement. Similar to other responses, he firmly believes that the current government should set aside any matters about charter change and focus instead to battle and ultimately defeat the pandemic. He stated that the current politicians are not really towards serving the Filipino people but for serving their own families and their own pockets. Most of the amendments, if not all, that will be done to the 1987 Constitution will be politically-motivated and at the end of the day, they will only serve their own ends.

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With all of their fruitful answers and differing reasons, they all have a common stand on the topic, which is being against cha-cha. Even with all of these irrelevant issues that are being fed to us, we should not give in to their motives. Keep in mind that we are experiencing worsening conditions because of the pandemic and the criminal negligence of the government.

Insight

Cha-cha is a low priority for many, and should also be one for the government. There have been numerous attempts to revise the Constitution but failed because of it being irrelevant or unnecessary. I do not know the thorough process of charter change, but based on what I have read, it certainly is a rough process. If we are to think about the process of bills enacted as laws, the purpose of a proposed bill is usually being diluted during the revision process, making the final law lacking and insubstantial. The same might go for the Constitution. The Congress, or anyone who plays a part in revising the supreme law, may intentionally create loopholes for their interests, which sacrifices the whole point of it.

In today’s context, cha-cha will be the very last thing that people will consider as a solution to this pandemic. The people are pleading for an immediate response from the government for a year now; yet, little to no action is seen from them. At this point, using the adjective ‘incompetent’ may be an understatement because frankly speaking, they are just downright negligent. Changing the constitution will do nothing if those same politicians will not be for the people. Before proposing new changes and calling for revisions, how about making the government officials do their job first? More importantly, how about focusing on the actual pandemic first instead of diverting the public’s attention away from it?

Learning

Whether there is a pandemic or none, I do not see cha-cha as a solid tool that will help the country to be progressive. Without the adequate response of the government for the people, we will not be able to get our way out of this pandemic. Apart from that, people should be encouraged to exercise their rights granted by the Constitution. Knowing our own rights and having the liberty to exert those is a lot better than offering a ‘stronger’ Bill of Rights even if the present constitution already has those.

Aside from being informed about our rights, we should also be aware of how the process of charter change takes place. We should participate and actively listen to the updates regarding this matter. If ever the constitution will be changed, there will be irreversible consequences that we should be ready to face because it will affect us and future generations. We should keep in mind that the Congress can only propose these amendments. We, the people, still have the power to accept or reject it. Let’s just wait for the time when these politicians will have the solemn purpose of truly serving the public. The problem is, we do not know when.

*all of the interviewees provided me with their consent and genuine answers about the topic. The interviews were conducted through Messenger or teleconversations, whichever was more convenient for them.