Cha-cha should take a backseat

MANILA, Philippines – The Charter change (Cha-cha) initiative introduced by some senators should take a back seat in Congress, pro-administration Rep. Matias Defensor of Quezon City said yesterday.

“As far as I am concerned, this is not a priority. It should be relegated to the back seat,” he said.

He said the lawmakers’ priorities should be the high cost of electricity and high prices of fuel, rice and other commodities.

“I think those who are pushing for Cha-cha have their own individual personal agendas,” he added.

For his part, Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III of Quezon said his Liberal Party group favors Cha-cha through an elected constitutional convention and not through a constituent assembly as proposed by senators.

He said if there is a serious effort to amend the Constitution, it should be done after the 2010 elections.

Sixteen senators have signed a resolution asking Congress to convert itself into a constituent assembly to amend the Charter to shift the nation to a presidential-federal form of government.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who has long been batting for federalism, is the principal author of the resolution.

Speaker Prospero Nograles has said the House would be willing to discuss Cha-cha with the Senate on condition that the economic provisions of the Constitution would also be rewritten.

However, La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, constitutional amendments committee chairman, said the proposal to shift the nation to the parliamentary system should also be discussed.

“We will surely put the proposal to shift to the parliamentary system on the table, together with the economic provisions,” he said.

“The ideal setup is a parliamentary-federal form of government, not a presidential-federal system. Both proposals have to be discussed,” he added.

The president under a parliamentary system is a ceremonial official with the prime minister as the more powerful leader. The prime minister runs the government.

Nograles earlier said he would like Cha-cha to happen after Mrs. Arroyo’s term.

Later, responding to a question on whether the Constitution would be amended during President Arroyo’s term, which ends on June 30, 2010, he said, “I do not know because I cannot predict the future, but at least, Cha-cha will be debated.”

He said he intends to informally discuss with senators their Cha-cha initiative and the manner of carrying out the proposed changes in the Constitution.

He reiterated his concern for the amendment of the Charter’s economic provisions.

“I think we should revisit the economic provisions, especially ownership of lands, public utilities like telecommunications, and the exploitation of natural resources, because we may not have the necessary capital to develop them and we may need foreign investors to do it,” Nograles said.

He said many foreign investors are unwilling to come in and pour in the needed investments if they would be limited to 40-percent ownership.

“They will not even have controlling interest,” he added.

For his part, pro-administration Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur urged senators and congressmen to shelve Cha-cha in the wake of rising electricity and food prices.

“They should forget about Cha-cha and focus on how to reduce prices of rice and other food items, and electricity,” he said.

“People will criticize us if we discuss Cha-cha under this environment of high food prices and fuel and electricity rates,” he said.

He said his colleagues should realize that high consumer prices have implications on the nation’s security.

“Remember the food riots and social unrest sparked by high prices in other countries,” he added.

Plaza pointed out that he does not see the urgency of Cha-cha.  “This can definitely wait,” he said.