Constituent Assembly likely to be approved

My source believes that, if newspaper reports are accurate, we are on the verge of amending the 1987 Constitution through a Constituent Assembly.

He says ten senators, two short of the required simple majority of 12, favor approval of the Joint Re-solution convening the Senate and the House of Representatives into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to revise the Charter drafted in 1986 by a 49-member Commission appointed by then President Corazon Aquino.

The charter change campaign has gained an incredible momentum since it was launched in December by its chief proponents, Speaker Jose de Venecia, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Deputy Speakers Raul Gonzalez, Emilio Espinosa and Gerry Salappudin, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, Nationalist People’s Coalition leader Representative Gilbert Teodoro, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Francis Escudero, Representative Gerardo Espina and Representative Rodolfo Albano.

My source says the vote on House Concurrent Resolution No. 16 taken on March 19 gave the movement "an immense push. By a clear majority – and after hours of interpellation – the House approved the Joint Resolution and put the country on the cusp of change. Only the senate’s approval by a simple majority of a similar resolution is needed to convene the assembly that will amend the Cory Constitution".

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But it is not the House alone that is the moving force behind the campaign. I am told that the "greater influence" are the local leagues that favor amendments and which threaten to campaign against re-electionist senators not supporting the movement. The League of Provinces, led by Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, the League of Cities headed by Mayor Francis Tolentino, and the League of Municipalities led by Mayor Ramon Guico, represent the local government units that are said to be in direct touch with the grassroots. Their battle-cry is charter change in order to have greater political and fiscal auto-nomy for their local government units.

My source says businessmen expressing support for a Con-Ass belong to the Philippine Constitution Association, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Regional Development Councils headed by Gov. Hermilando Mandanas. The original convenors of the Coalition for Charter Change NOW! are working for Con-Ass – Marietta Primicias-Goco, Amb. Alberto Pedrosa, Alberto Fenix, and even Bro. Rolando Dizon, FSC, and their more than 1,000 non-government organizations.

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Now all eyes are on the senators. Will they approve the Joint Resolution? True, the bloc led by Senate President Franklin Drilon is for charter change, but the mode they prefer is a constitutional convention (Con-Con), not a constituent assembly.

As the Con-Ass supporters assert, Con-Ass calls for the present members of Congress to sit as one body, acting as legislators some days of the week and as charter writers on other days. The argument is that the present legislators, who had been elected by the people, are better prepared to introduce the desired amendments. Some of the opposing senators claim that already, as Con-Ass, they (the senators) are already being removed from their elective position.

Con-Ass looks indeed to be the more practical mode as it would be less costly than a Con-Con, which would cost P8-billion. And it makes operative by Year 2004 the amendments to be introduced by the Con-Ass.

Public opinion shows a swing towards a Con-Ass. The latest survey released by the Coalition shows that 58 percent of voters surveyed in Metro Manila favor a Con-Ass as opposed to 38 percent for a Con-Con. Nationally, the average is 54 percent in favor of Con-Ass and roughly 42 for a Con-Con.

But political miracles can happen. Let’s watch out for Drilon’s and his hard-line peers’ change of heart. The change, says my source, "is not surrender of will, but a clear recognition of the national interest".

Sumasaya ang labanan.

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Should boys cry? Yes, says Sonia Capio. Crying does not make them less boys. Capio’s organization, Womantouch Media & Gender Advocates (Womantouch) will sponsor the launching of "Men in Purple", a movement complementing the campaign to stop sexism and homophobia in the media. Sonia says "Men in Purple" wants "to challenge men to be responsible for their behavior. It seeks to enjoin the male populace to complement the women’s movement to help promote positive images of women and men in the media".

Sonia was able to get male big shots in the Legislative House and media to support the campaign, and talk about the subject of male-female partnership on April 30 at the Sulo Hotel. They are Kapisanan ng Brodkaster sa Pilipinas national chair Cerge Remonde, and Representatives Apolinario "Jun" Lozada, Satur Ocampo and Crispin Beltran; Ares Gutierrez of the National Press Club, Lesbian Advocates of the Philippines (LEAP), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and other advocates from the NGOs and the media.

Coinciding with the launching is the oath-taking of the Brodkaster ng Masa Media Advocates (BMMA), a new group organized by the scholars of a five-month gender training course under the sponsorship of the Canadian International Development Agency. Sectoral Representative Liza Maza will give the keynote speech at the launching.

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My e-mail address: [email protected].