Historical Legacy or Betrayal?

The CHACHA will push through as far as House Speaker De Venecia, GMA, and their allies are concerned. If you have all observed, they are now simultaneously challenging the Supreme Court and Congress (for their CON-ASS), and may probably also be ready with other contingency measures if their plan does not pass through the SC and Congress.

Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has categorically denied their petition for their version of "people's initiative" not once, but twice, the pro-CHACHA group has not given up on the SC, however.

They have doubled their efforts by working on their allies as well in Congress. With their interpretation of a constituent assembly different from those in the Senate who see that the representatives and the senators vote separately on the issue, the pro-CHACHA will still attempt anyway to push their own version and move on from there. That is what they did with the SC move. That is also how they will want to proceed with their envisioned CON-ASS. They have the numbers in Congress and they have shown how their own version of the rule of law has, so far, prevented any impeachment vs. GMA to prosper.

They also, however, thought that they had the numbers, the majority vote among the justices of the Supreme Court. Fortunately for this nation, our justices know the meaning of real people's initiative and our justices still remain loyal to the true spirit of this land's constitution. The pro-CHACHA advocates, however, will not give up as they may just be able to get the crucial majority votes in their own way, someday soon, or till December, when a new Chief Justice is appointed by GMA herself.

Speaker De Venecia has made the CHACHA a personal mission, as his historical legacy to this nation, he was quoted to have said. Why he has to do this before the May election is a question that he should explain to our people. Why he has to push the CHACHA despite survey results that show the majority of Filipinos are not in favor of CHACHA is also something that the Speaker may wish to clarify as well. Why he has to push the CHACHA in their own way, through their own version of the CON-ASS, if allowed to have their way, and not through more acceptable, more democratic and constitutionally accepted ways is also an important question that he may care to explain, if indeed, his intention is to leave CHACHA as a historical legacy.

If the survey results are to be given credence, the majority of our people no longer trust this administration and their allies. That will make any CON-ASS move a betrayal of people's real sentiments about the CHACHA. The survey results are clear that our people will not want to have our charter tampered by the same people who will benefit from the shift in the form of government. Why not have the CHACHA made by those whom our people elect to change the constitution?

Why rush the CHACHA before May? Why through CON-ASS, not through a Constitutional Convention? Can't the Speaker lead CHACHA at a more appropriate time after elections, and with delegates whom our people can trust our constitution with? Doing so after May and under a clear atmosphere of trust and responsible legitimate democratically elected leadership will definitely make any CHACHA a genuine historical legacy. Won't rushing CHACHA now, before May, before elections, in the manner that the advocates are proposing, beyond constitutional methods, instead be viewed as a historical betrayal, not a historical legacy?

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