Balay Drilon

Villafuerte’s resolution was “deceptive” when it vowed that the process would not:

• extend the terms of office of the President and the Vice President;
• the terms of other elective officials will not be extended;
• the terms of office of the 12 senators who were elected in 2007 for a six-year term ending in 2013 shall not be shortened and they shall be allowed to finish their terms; and
• that there shall be elections.

Of course, under the Kampi plan to install President Arroyo as prime minister after the 2010, all those four conditions will mean nothing. It is all a grand deception plan designed to install President Arroyo as prime minister even after the holding of the 2010 elections. This deceptive plan will pave the way for a Gloria Forever Constitution.

I agree with the statement of former Speaker Jose de Venecia that President Arroyo is the prime mover behind the plan to amend the 1987 Constitution and shift the form of government from presidential to parliamentary.

There have been persistent reports that during the birthday party of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, neophyte Congressmen were asked to sign the Villafuerte resolution in the presence of the President herself. Sometime during the last quarter of 2008, President Arroyo was also reported to have told a meeting of Senators in Malacanang that Charter Change must be implemented soon. The President was quoted to have said “kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa.”

Recall that I earlier called for vigilance against moves by the allies of the Arroyo government to carry out Charter changes through a constituent assembly minus the Senate. The move is illegal and unconstitutional and should be condemned by the public. Doing Charter Change at this time would only exacerbate present political instability and uncertainty.

Read more on Drilon news today:

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This I say after learning of moves to amend the 1987 Constitution—only the economic provisions—to amend only economic provisions could backfire and will only cause devastating negative effects on the national economy instead of improving it.

Due to the apparent poor credibility of the Arroyo administration in the business community, nobody will buy the excuse that only the economic provisions will be touched once the Malacanang Cha-Cha train takes off.

It is obvious that the primary motivation of Cha-Cha is the extension of President Arroyo’s term. No amount of sugarcoating or media spin can deodorize that self-serving objective.

Did I hear there was a move of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments that approved a resolution, sponsored by House Speaker Propero Nograles, scrapping foreign-ownership limits on corporations and lands as part of the congressmen’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution?

For the information of everyone, House Resolution 737 seeks to erase the constitutional provision limiting foreign ownership of a corporation to 40 percent and disallows foreign acquisition of both public and private lands. In relation to this, according to Nograles, enabling foreign corporations and associations to hold, acquire and in any manner be granted the right to possess and utilize lands in the Philippines is a strategic policy that could encourage more long-term foreign investments in the country.

If Malacanang continues to push the Nograles Cha-Cha resolution in the national agenda, it could trigger devastating consequences on the national economy, as it would give the impression that President Arroyo was succeeding in railroading it despite massive protests from the Filipino people.

Business leaders predict more political and financial instability that will trigger another wave of capital flight from disappointed foreign investors.

The negative impact of Charter Change could be enough to cripple the national economy in the first quarter of 2009 given the projected ill effects of the ongoing worldwide economic slowdown on Southeast Asia.

If this Malacanang-supported Nograles House resolution will dominate the national agenda, we can kiss our economic recovery programs goodbye. We must not underestimate the devastating effect of Malacanang’s self-serving exercise on the national economy that is already suffering from the effects of the current global financial crisis.

Makati business leaders fear that the renewed efforts to amend the Constitution will not help any in alleviating the country's flagging economy. I heard that Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Director Alberto Lim said business leaders were wary that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's allies at the House of Representatives were moving to extend her term beyond 2010.

I had argued before that amending the Constitution was not the appropriate solution to resolve the current political and financial turmoil in the country. The proposed charter change would not eradicate corruption in government, which is the very root cause of the country's present problems. What we need is not a change in the system but a change in the character of the people in government.

The Arroyo administration is guilty of "double speak" on the issue of charter change. The deceitful moves of Malacañang and its allies only reinforce suspicions that the exercise is intended to extend the president's stay in power beyond 2010.

While President Arroyo appears to be no longer be interested in pushing for Charter Change and extending her term, her eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, was spearheading a signature campaign in the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution through a constituent assembly.

The double speak of Malacañang on the issue to Charter Change is too obvious to ignore. It is now clear to most Filipinos that despite her patent unpopularity, President Arroyo has not given up on the prospects of extending her stay in power until after 2010.

This relentless presidential desire to stay in power appears to be the principal motivation behind the deceitful moves to amend the Constitution even if it would mean sacrificing the tradition democratic institutions of our country.

Let me reiterate that pushing for Charter Change at this time would have a devastating effect on the national economy that is already suffering from the effects on the ongoing global financial crisis.

Makati business leaders have expressed fears over Malacañang's renewed efforts to amend the Constitution, which they said would not help any in alleviating the country's flagging economy.

I had been a staunch critic of Charter Change when I was Senate President of the 13th Congress, and I had argued that amending the Constitution was not the appropriate solution to resolve the current political and financial turmoil in the country.

The proposed charter change will not eradicate corruption in government which is the very root cause of the country's present problems. What we need is not a change in the system but a change in the character of the people in government.

I warn Malacanang not to sign the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. President Arroyo will be committing an impeachable offense since the agreement constitutes a gross violation of the 1987 Constitution.

No doubt, Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr and RP Panel Chair Rodolfo Garcia will be signing the agreement only upon the authority and orders of President Arroyo.

The MoA clearly violates the 1987 Constitution because it grants the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) a status of belligerency, which is a step closer to granting it international recognition as a separate and independent state. It will reportedly authorize the BJE to sign trade pacts, friendship treaties and other international agreements with foreign countries and send representatives to ASEAN and the United Nations. Moreover, the Terms of Reference cites the UN Charter, the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which only sovereign states can be party to.

Further, the MoA unconstitutionally surrenders Philippine government authority over exploitation of natural resources, such as oil exploration, as the Bangsamoro territory no longer forms part of the national public domain.

Further, you cannot divide sovereignty, which the MoA provides for when it allows BJE to exercise shared authority and responsibility with the Philippine government over the Bangsamoro homeland.

While I have always supported the peace process in Mindanao, I maintain that any agreement should be within the boundaries of the present Constitution. This MoA goes beyond the constitutional parameters and boundaries, which provides only for autonomous regions. I am for the granting of full and genuine authority to the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but the process should not violate the Constitution.

To say that we need to amend the Constitution for this MoA only lends credence to allegations that the Arroyo administration intends to unscrupulously exploit the Mindanao peace process in its relentless bid to amend the 1987 Constitution and pave the way to extend President Arroyo’s stay in power beyond 2010.