Palace to anti-Cha-cha groups: See you in plebiscite

See you at the plebiscite, Malacañang told anti-Charter change groups yesterday after these groups vowed to mobilize public support against efforts to amend the Constitution and shift the present form of government to a unicameral parliamentary system.

At the same time, the Guardians International Inc. (GII) — a 2.5 million-strong group composed mostly of active, retired and former soldiers and policemen — announced its support for the people’s initiative to amend the Constitution.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the outcome of the campaign for Charter change and the resurgent opposition to it would come to a head once a nationwide plebiscite is held to approve the proposed constitutional amendments.

"Of course, both sides would be campaigning for their respective causes, with the administration and progressive people pushing for constitutional reforms," Ermita said in a telephone interview. "Hopefully, there would be actual debates, instead of dirty tactics from those opposing it."

"But in the end, we’d just be seeing each other in the plebiscite and we’re confident that the Filipino people would choose progress and reform," he added.

Ermita pointed out that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is in the process of verifying the more than eight million signatures gathered nationwide by the non-government organization Sigaw ng Bayan for a people’s initiative amid attempts by the opposition to block it.

He said the Palace and Charter change advocates expect that the ongoing nationwide campaign for a people’s initiative as well as the simultaneous efforts in the House of Representatives to convene Congress into a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution would be questioned by detractors before the Supreme Court.

Ermita said while he cannot comment on how the Supreme Court would rule on the two Palace-backed efforts to amend the Constitution, he shares the optimism of legal experts in the Charter Change Advocacy Commission that the High Tribunal would not ignore the overwhelming clamor for constitutional reform and decide in their favor.

"We still don’t know which mode (of amending the Constitution) would succeed but we’re very optimistic that we will prevail in our political and economic reform efforts," he said.

Ermita said pro-Charter change lawmakers remain optimistic that they can secure the required signatures of 195 members of the House of Representatives to convene a constituent assembly.

Charter change advocates said the people’s initiative and the constituent assembly are explicitly allowed in Article 17 of the Constitution as two of three modes in making amendments or revisions.

Among the other amendments being pushed are the lifting of restrictive economic provisions that hamper the entry of foreign capital into the country, as well as electoral and judicial reforms.

Comelec officials earlier said they would continue verifying signatures and, once requirements are satisfied, call for a plebiscite to approve of the proposed amendments unless stopped by the Supreme Court.

‘Guardians’ come out

Bishop Nilo Tayag, GII general secretary for information and education, said they "have come out in the open because we do not want our people and non-government organizations to be marginalized by not participating in this fundamental issue of Charter change."

He said his group chose to back efforts to amend the Constitution "because we have faith in the ultimate wisdom of the Filipino people as the makers of history. In this instance, Charter change is inevitable and the shift to a parliamentary system is the wave of the future."

Tayag, a former activist turned priest of the Iglesia Catolica Filipino Independiente, said the bicameral presidential system has spawned patronage politics at its worst and only exacerbates the suffering of the people since the impasse between the executive branch and the legislature makes the government unable to address problems affecting the country.

He said GII members are being mobilized to help Sigaw ng Bayan, the main proponent of the people’s initiative campaign, disseminate information on the benefits of shifting to a parliamentary system of government.

"In effect, we will be helping each other educate the mass-base of our people so that they could make a very intelligent choice when plebiscite day comes," Tayag said.