Reinventing the government through federalism

I was elated to read the front page story complete with a picture of Philippine STAR publisher Max Soliven speaking before the Philippine Constitutional Association (Phil—consa) at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Makati City on the subject of constitutional change, wherein he suggested that we should begin with electing members of a constitutional convention (con-con). Indeed, this is an issue we’ve been espousing for many years because when the Cory regime took over the reins of government from the departed conjugal Marcos Dictatorship, the opposition then only returned the bad old system of having a centralized government, rather than move forward to adopt a federal system.

Last March 10, we read with enthusiasm the column (A Point of Awareness) of Mrs. Preciosa S. Soliven which she titled, "Belgium Welcomes the World to Share Federal Experiences" as she attended the Third International Conference on Federalism at the European Parliament. I clipped her article and faxed it to our friends in Cebu, many of whom believe that we should have shifted to a federal system 19 years ago.

Not to be outdone, the next day, House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who also attended this forum on federalism, had his speech printed in the Opinion Section of The Philippine STAR on March 11, where, in a nutshell, he emphasized, "Federalism is the wave of the future." Actually, if Joe de Venecia said this 19 years ago, it would have been just perfect. Well, we’re 19 years too late, but it’s not yet too late for the Philippines to make this shift.

So the big question is: when are we going to start the ball rolling? Frankly speaking, the ball is really in the court of Speaker De Venecia. But would he be able to convince the Senate to see things his way? I know that there are only two people in the Senate whom we can rely on when it comes to Charter changes — Senators Mar Roxas and Dick Gordon... the rest needs to see the light.

What about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA)? Well, like what we’ve been saying all along, a lot of people in the Visayas and Mindanao voted for her because she was the only presidential candidate with a program for Charter change. But somehow, she has put this very important issue on the back burner. But with so many people now seeing that the right path for the Philippines is through a federal system, perhaps President Arroyo should now give federalism more importance so we can finally reinvent our government.

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Since today is Holy Monday and the beginning of Holy Week, I strongly suggest that you grab the March 21, 2005 edition of Time magazine as it has on its cover one of the most interesting stories I have ever read. On the front cover is an icon of our Blessed Virgin Mary and it is entitled, "Hail, Mary... Christians of all denominations are finding their own reasons to venerate the mother of Jesus." This Time magazine article written by David Van Biema touches on the most difficult subject, the greatest chasm that divides Catholicism from the other Christian denominations... our Mama Mary.

This article starts with a dilemma, which is to happen on this Good Friday where Rev. Brian Maquire, of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio, noted that the Annunciation Day, which is to start nine months before Christmas, also falls on Good Friday. That means the entry of our Lord Jesus Christ and his exit would be celebrated on the same day. Of course, Catholics will celebrate the Annunciation on April 4. But one thing that Rev. Maquire could not deny is the presence of Mama Mary in both important events in the life of Jesus Christ. She was at the beginning and at the end!

Indeed, to us Catholics, Mama Mary has always had a central role in our faith... as co-mediatrix or co-redemptrix. But as the article notes, other Christian denominations that pride themselves as biblical seem to deny or skip the pages of the Bible just so they don’t have something in common with Catholics in Mama Mary. Well, if you ask me, the Holy Spirit is working into the hearts and minds of our Christian brethren who can never deny that Mama Mary was also present during Pentecost Sunday.

This is why I suggest that every Christian should get a copy of this week’s Time magazine so that we can finally break down the walls that divide Christians all over the world. Indeed, oftentimes, this division is caused by ignorance of each other’s beliefs. A couple of years ago, in one of our bike trips to Leyte, I met a young American lad named Troy, a Calvinist, and when we started discussing about religion, the subject of Mama Mary came out… with his questioning why we prayed to Mama Mary when she’s not a God.

My reply to the young lad was "Sir, are we dealing here on the ignorance of Catholics or is it your ignorance of Catholic beliefs?" So I asked him if he has ever prayed the Hail Mary and he said he did not know the words. So I prayed the Hail Mary to him very slowly and he realized that at the end, when I said, "Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." He said he was comforted with the knowledge that Catholics ask Mama Mary for intercession. We parted ways as good friends, with a healthy respect of each other’s faith. If we were only more open-minded and humble Christians like Troy.

But if Time magazine’s main topic on Mama Mary doesn’t appeal to you, check out the story on page 22 of the same Time issue, which features a story about the dangers of Philippine journalism. This story entitled "Write and Wrong" and written by Liam Fitzpatrick gives a full report on the reality that next to Iraq, the Philippines is the most dangerous place for journalists.

The Time reporter prominently features the story of The Freeman’s Allan Dizon, our photojournalist who was murdered last Nov. 27. The story also has a hefty interview with The Freeman’s Transportation Editor, Ruth Mercado. While I submit that this story reveals certain realities of Philippine journalism, that’s exactly what journalism should be... that we should tell the truth no matter what, even at the cost of our own lives!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.