It’s finally here!

After months of discussions and suggestions from the crowd in Bayanko’s Facebook page, we finally have a draft Constitution. The guiding principle of the draft Constitution is – as it should be – “for the people, by the people and of the people.”

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno received the draft Constitution of Jose Alejandrino and amendments thereto from members of Bayanko. These will be studied by a panel headed by the CJ and selected constitutionalists who will prepare the final version.

Of the topics discussed during the meeting held with him last Friday, the CJ emphasized that the social and economic rights of the people must be included in the Bill of Rights in the new Constitution. As such it becomes obligatory and demandable from the State.

He agreed the marginalized sectors of society must have a greater representation in Parliament.

The CJ is extremely well qualified for the task. He earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines. He did his post-graduate studies at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas (Master of Comparative Laws), at the University of California, Berkeley (Master of Laws), and at the University of Illinois (Doctor of Judicial Science). He was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos as justice of the Court of Appeals and reappointed to the same court by President Corazon Aquino. He was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court by President Fidel V. Ramos and Chief Justice by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He also served on the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines. He is the recipient of many awards, among them TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) award in the field of law and voted as “Outstanding Alumnus” by the UP College of Law.

The draft Constitution of 124 articles submitted to the CJ proposes to strengthen institutions, as Cardinal Tagle had suggested, notably by ensuring a clear delineation of powers and responsibilities and an adequate system of checks and balances between the presidency and the prime minister on one hand, and, on the other, by making the Supreme Court and the constitutional commissions totally independent bodies.

 The new Constitution also raises the qualifications of public officials and voters and provides for greater representation in Parliament of the marginalized sectors of society such as labor, farmers, women, youth.

Former Sen. Ernesto Herrera, chairman of our executive committee, agreed to release the names and  credentials of the partial list of recommendees to the ExCom who will direct our grand coalition. They are:

Ernesto ‘Boy’ Herrera, president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines:

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Visayas and obtained his master’s degree in public administration and his Ph.D. in fiscal studies from the Lyceum of the Philippines.

He spent most of his professional life as a labor union leader, mainly as secretary-general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and now as its president. He was the only Filipino member of the executive board of the International Federation of Free Trade and Union in Brussels, Belgium.

He served in the Philippine Senate where he was responsible for landmark reforms in vocational educational and training that resulted in the establishment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). He is the recipient of many awards.

Leonardo Montemayor, president of the Federation of Free Farmers:

He obtained his BA degree from the Ateneo. He served in the House of Representatives representing the peasant sector where he co-authored major laws and wrote on issues like the empowerment of coconut farmers and agrarian reform. He also served as Secretary of Agriculture. Today he is the president of the 200,000-strong Federation of Free Farmers.

Roy Seneres, former ambassador to the UAE and founder of OFW Family Club:

He obtained his BA degree from the University of the Philippines. He served as Philippine ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and gained prominence due to the cases of OFWs Sarah Balabagan, John Aquino and Wahida Malaydin who were all sentenced to death by hanging in the UAE but were pardoned and brought back to the Philippines, thanks to the efforts of Roy Seneres.

He was chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission and founded the OFW Family Club which today has 1.8-million card-bearing members.

Carmen N. Pedrosa: A well-known columnist and international author. She graduated from Assumption College with a BA in philosophy.

She was the first Filipino to be granted the Thomson Reuters Foundation training award in journalism in London and worked for the International Press in Tokyo. She covered beats from police to foreign affairs as a reporter for the Manila Chronicle.

She achieved worldwide fame as author of the “Untold Story of Imelda Marcos” which was published by St. Martin’s Press in New York and Weidenfeld and Nicolson in London. While in exile in London, she was elected chairperson of the Migrant Workers Group and co-founder of the Confederation of Overseas Filipino Workers.

She is the founder of Bayanko.

Susanita Tesiorna: She was the Alternate Commissioner of the National Anti-Poverty Commission. In that position, she was responsible for the NAPC workers in the informal sector being included in the PhilHealth and SSS insurance coverage that was among the six Luigap programs implemented by the Estrada government. During the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, she was elected again as sectoral representative. She served on the PhilHealth board of directors where she made notable contributions to its policies and programs during her tenure from 2004 to 2010.

Today she is the president of the Alliance of Workers in the Informal Economy/Sector (ALLWIES).

Milagros Ogalina: She is the Secretary-General  of the National Alliance of Teachers and Office Workers. She works with the Jose Rizal University.

Florencia Cabatingan: She is the executive officer and chairperson of the Women’s Committee at the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. She studied accounting at the University of Southern Philippines.

She is also the chairperson of the Development Action for Women.

Jose Alejandrino: He obtained his BA degree from Columbia University in New York.

He worked for Shell-France, handling the Shell advertising account.

He was chief of administration and finance of the External Relations Sector of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in Paris.

 He was the general manager of the Manila Chronicle.

He was Presidential Assistant for Economic Affairs to President Fidel V. Ramos and chairman of the Philippine Coordinating Committee on the Asian Development Bank.

Today he is the country representative of Cidark in the Philippines, a major Spanish company with worldwide business interests. He is also the author of three books published in the United States.