I could not believe that the members of the majority in the House of Representatives, steep in the understanding of a bicameral system of government, shamelessly passed the resolution constituting themselves as a constituent assembly for the end objective of proposing amendments to the constitution. Their action was comparably faster than the German blitzkrieg in the second world war although they used the same tactic the Nazis employed. They had the element of surprise and superiority of firepower. By the way, my comparing the congressmen who voted for the Con-Ass resolution with the Nazis is not totally unintended for I sadly see their parallelism.
Our lawmakers surprised our countrymen because just few days earlier, they made loud public pronouncements abandoning the idea of a charter change. In clear and unmistakable language, carefully designed to convince even the suspicious and the skeptics, they told our people that they either had no more time to tackle the issue of amending our fundamental law or that it was better left for the new congress after the 2010 elections. How they made us feel mighty proud of them when they committed to devote what little time is left to attend to the remaining important pieces of legislation. The night they made a complete turnaround and shredded their prior assurances to the Filipino people was as surprising as the act of Hitler in over running Poland after his earlier promise of peace.
Of course, they had superior numbers and in that shameful evening, they demonstrated what it meant. I could not help associating superior numbers to the same gang whom we saw, not very long ago, filing out of Malacañang with bags of unreceipted oodles or money. Their numbers must indeed compose the same callous horde of legislators who would rather throw out impeachment papers than listen to the evidence of how corruption has kept a stranglehold of our nation.
But what dismayed me even more were the pronouncements of Cebuano congressmen after the fact. When told that there was beginning a ground swell of protests against their collective act because people thought that the affirmative vote of the representatives for the con-ass could lead to a political accommodation of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, they, in remarkably different prose amounting to substantially the same meaning, tried a myriad of gobbledygook. Each one of them echoed a common line – they were against it. Hoping to placate an indignant society, they swore to high heavens that it could not be done. Claiming that their sole intention was to amend the economic provisions of the charter that we could beat the odds imposed a global financial meltdown, they promised never to be used to allow the scenario of an Ex-President Arroyo still in control of the government
I was dismayed because they thought we are all illiterates. Imagine, they would want us to believe it would be impossible to canalize a con-ass into amending our constitution to find a constitutional position for our president after her term shall have expired in 2010. Our congressmen expressed their opinion that a con-ass could only be limited to making our country open to needed foreign investors and they would want us to think that indeed no other item can be treated in the event of a con-ass!
Yes, I may be a lowly citizen. But, let not our representatives mislead me (and our citizenry) into thinking that a con-ass, once convened, can only treat economic issues. I am certain that they know that once they shall have convened as a con-ass, they have all the authority and power to review and perhaps amend any other part of the constitution including a restructuring our political system as to find a place for an ex president to continue to reign. What will be most disturbing to me is that they will then cite hallowed Supreme Court rulings to back this evil design.
On the basis that our congressmen, without gumption, have recently played words with our people, I am more of the belief that if the con-ass is convened, they shall not fail to claim working for the fatherland to situate an ex president in a restructured government. This sounded like the words of Hitler somewhere in the pages of history.