Cha-cha to address RP insurgency, terror problems

Amending the 1987 Constitution would address the country’s decades-long problems of insurgency, terrorism and military adventurism, a member of the Charter Change Advocacy Commission (Ad-com) said.

Ad-com Commissioner Romela Bengzon considers internal conflicts as the most pressing national security problem the country faces today.

"Threats come from all directions: from the right, which is composed of powerbrokers who espouse military adventurism; the progressive left which is comprised of Marxist-leaning militants magnified by insurgency in the countryside; the Abu Sayyaf and armed terror elements, and the off-center assemblage associated with the Church, civil society groups and those living below the poverty line. These are the critical internal security issues we need to consider in amending our Constitution," Bengzon told students and faculty of the National Defense College last Tuesday.

Bengzon said deleting part of Article 2, Section 3 of the Charter would avert future misreading, misunderstanding and misuse of the statement.

Article 2, Section 3 of the Charter states: "Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory."

She also said that military adventurism would be diminished once the parliamentary system is in place.

Bengzon said people are restive because they feel neglected and exploited and feel that the government and political leadership are to blame for their woes.

"Even climate change has now become a national security concern. Unless we do something to address these, threats to our national security will always be there. The only way to curtail these disruptive sentiments is to make the lives of people better.

However, we need Charter reforms to correct some mechanisms in system and eventually resolve every sectoral concern," Bengzon said.

Meanwhile, she said the proposed amendments in the Constitution are the very first democratic steps needed to bring social services closer to the people, particularly those in the countryside.

Bengzon said a shift to a unicameral-parliamentary structure of government would greatly reduce red tape and strengthen rural economies. — Mike Frialde