GMA to become honorary president?

President Arroyo’s powers will be diminished and she will become a figurehead in an interim parliament during the transition from the current US-style form of government to a full parliamentary system, according to one lawmaker.

Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan, an Arroyo ally in the House of Representatives, belied critics’ contention that Mrs. Arroyo would assume more powers under a parliamentary system that she wants the country to adopt following amendments to the Constitution.

"President Arroyo will become the symbolic head of state with the prime minister as head of the government," Domogan told a press forum.

The interim parliament will be made up of members of the Senate and the House and some members of Mrs. Arroyo’s Cabinet, he said.

Mrs. Arroyo and senators elected in 2004 will stay on during the transition and serve the rest of their terms until 2010.

The power sharing between Mrs. Arroyo and the prime minister is one of the major issues raised by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, an umbrella organization of local government officials, in discussions over the issue of amending the Constitution.

"This talk about a supposed post-2010 agenda and clothing the president with Marcos-type powers via Charter change is baloney because what is being discussed in these provincial consultations are the powers that Mrs. Arroyo will have to surrender to the prime minister under the transition parliament," said Mandaue City councilor and ULAP secretary-general Carlos Fortuna.

Mrs. Arroyo wants to replace the country’s current form of government with a parliamentary system, which she said will speed up passage of vital legislation.

Her initiative has sparked speculation on who among her allies would become the country’s first prime minister since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.

In 1973, the Philippines shifted to a parliamentary system after dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, and put in place a new constitution to cement his iron-fisted rule.

Marcos initially ruled by decree as president and prime minister until Cesar Virata was appointed prime minister in 1981. Marcos lifted martial law in 1981 but retained his power to rule by decree.

The names of several senior leaders in the Senate and House have been cropping up as possible candidates for prime minister, according to ULAP.

The initial list includes both administration and opposition lawmakers as well as local leaders perceived to have strong leadership and a wide political base.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, a former Arroyo ally turned critic, is the strongest contender from the Senate. The others are Senators Manuel Villar, Edgardo Angara, Panfilo Lacson, Sergio Osmena III, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Manuel Roxas II.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., a staunch advocate of amending the Constitution, tops the list of possible contenders from the House, which include House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles, Surigao del Sur Congressman Prospero Pichay Jr. and Reps. Gilbert Teodoro, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Antonio Cuenco.

Datu Toto Paglas, a former candidate for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is being eyed in Muslim communities.

Critics of the initiative to amend the Constitution charge that Mrs. Arroyo wants to change the country’s form of government to extend her stay in office and escape the allegations of vote-rigging in the 2004 elections hounding her since last year.

Earlier, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Roman Catholic Church’s local policymaking body, had called for extensive public consultations on the issue, cautioning against making hasty amendments to the Constitution.

Last Tuesday, Bohol governor and ULAP president Erico Aumentado met with Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to straighten their differences on the method of making the amendments.

ULAP prefers a people’s initiative in which amendments may be proposed by the electorate, while the CBCP wants the amendments drafted by constitutional convention to be made of elected delegates.

Aumentado said Lagdameo had approved of ULAP’s public consultations on the issue despite failing to reach an agreement on the method of making the amendments.

"I do not want to put words in other people’s mouth because what actually transpired during my meeting with the good bishop, the CBCP endorsement encouraged the ULAP and other constitutional reform advocates to carry on with the task," Aumentado said in a statement yesterday. — With Evelyn Macairan