'Arroyo behind charter change - de Venceia'

MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is behind a move to amend the Constitution that is being pushed by her son in Congress. Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo attempted but failed to enlist the support of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia in exchange for his reinstatement as House Speaker, the former Congress leader said. De Venecia on Wednesday said that Representatives Arroyo and Martin Romualdez came to his office two days before the House adjourned for a Lenten break March 5 to request him to shepherd the passage of the draft resolution calling for a constituent assembly (Con-ass). In return, De Venecia said he was offered back the speakership stripped from him in what was described as a “political assassination” after his namesake son exposed the NBN-ZTE deal with China. Mikey and his brother-congressman, Dato, engineered the ouster.

“I preempted them by saying ‘no,’” De Venecia told reporters. “I turned down the request for me to help because they are not telling the Filipino people the truth,” he said, pointing to the obvious motive of Con-ass—“so that Gloria’s term can be extended.” De Venecia said as long as administration allies could muster the 197 votes in the House and get the Supreme Court to uphold their move, “there will be no stopping Cha-cha.” Mikey denied De Venecia’s allegation. “I never offered him the speakership,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “What will I offer him? He’s the one who volunteered to help.” “All these people crucifying this resolution must have first the decency to read the resolution. It hasn’t even been filed yet,” Mikey said, adding that the measure neither calls for scuttling next year’s balloting nor extending the term of sitting elective officials.

Malacañang also scoffed at claims that the administration was bent on amending the Constitution ahead of the 2010 elections to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government. Secretary Gabriel Claudio, presidential political adviser, said that Malacañang, which approved the P11.3-billion budget for poll automation on Monday, was all psyched up for the May 2010 elections.

Palace on election mode

Claudio said the Commission on Elections had gone “full blast” preparing for the first nationwide computerized elections, even as the administration coalition “is pursuing its selection process in earnest.” “The whole country, the administration included, is on election mode,” he said.
“I can feel that they still need 20 votes to obtain the required 197 votes,” De Venecia said, referring to the magic number which represents three-fourths of the combined Senate and House membership to effect any changes in the 1987 Constitution. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte has said the House could push through Con-ass despite the Senate’s strong objection if it could get 197 signatures. Villafuerte disputes the contention that the Constitution provides a two-thirds vote of members of the House and the Senate, voting separately, was needed to call a Con-ass.

Hopeless proposition

De Venecia stressed that even the separate Cha-cha resolution filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles was only a “decoy,” pointing out that limiting amendments to purely economic provisions was a “hopeless” proposition. “The Nograles resolution is just a decoy and the Villafuerte resolution does not say anything, except to get the Supreme Court to rule favorably on a constituent assembly,” De Venecia said.

Afraid of plunder cases

“They will buy her (Ms Arroyo) immunity. They are afraid of the plunder cases to be filed against them. If the Cha-cha move has no go-signal from the President, will they get 177 votes?” De Venecia said. He was referring to reported Palace efforts to keep Ms Arroyo as transition president or prime minister if the move to abolish the presidential system to pave the way for parliamentary or federal system pushes through. As of February, 180 congressmen had signed the Con-ass resolution, other Congress sources said. Should the Con-ass bid succeed, De Venecia said Congress could then push for a transition period that would extend the terms of all elected officials by one or two years after 2010 to allow the Con-ass to revise the Constitution.
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Pangilinan called on Ms Arroyo to break her silence on Con-ass. They said her unclear position was only fueling rumors that she really wanted to stay on as President beyond June 30, 2010. Cayetano said that after years of “undeclared strong-arm rule, many still can’t believe that she will simply leave in 2010 without a Plan A and C in place.”

Cha-cha is Plan A

“Everyone knows that Cha-cha is Plan A, emergency rule is Plan B and support for a candidate or an opposition Trojan horse is Plan C,” Cayetano said. “They are playing with fire and making a costly mistake if they think they can ram Cha-cha down the throats of people already sick and tired of abuses and corruption in government,” Pangilinan said. He said administration officials were afraid they would lose their immunity after the 2010 elections and face “a string of nonbailable plunder cases and jail.” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. said that the off-and-on move of Malacañang and its allies to revive Cha-cha was an exercise in futility “because the means with which they are pushing for it is unconstitutional.”

No time left

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said there was no time for Charter change. “It’s difficult to go through that. We don’t even know how it will be done. They are quarreling in the House if it will be treated like an ordinary bill or it will be separately done,” Enrile said in an interview.
Even if Charter change proponents get the required number, it will face rough-sailing, he said.
“If they will disregard the Senate, it will have to go to the Supreme Court. They have to remember that we’re a bicameral Congress. The House of Representative is not the Congress of the Philippines, neither is the Senate,” Enrile said. “And my guess as a lawyer … they will lose if they will do it alone. The Supreme Court cannot skirt the issue. Once you are appointed as a member of the Supreme Court, you are only beholden to your conscience, to God and to history,” Enrile stressed.

Plebiscite needs funding

The Senate president said that funding a plebiscite to ratify the new Constitution also needed the support of the Senate because it would entail appropriation. “If the plan is to bypass the Senate, then I will be the first to challenge it before the Supreme Court,” said Sen. Francis Escudero, who is the chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of laws. “If by any chance it passes the Supreme Court, then I am sure that the people will reject it,” Escudero added. Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III said that Ms Arroyo should come clean on the Con-ass by asking her son to withdraw his support from the draft resolution to parry charges of “collusion” between mother and son. “If they have the chutzpah to assume that they can violate the rules of the House, our laws and the Constitution so they can push for Con-ass, then they should at least have the guts to come out,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, president of the United Opposition, said Ms Arroyo’s failure to make a categorical statement that she would step aside in 2010 meant she was endorsing Charter change. “Ms Arroyo is feeding their optimism by not publicly disavowing any plan to stay in power beyond 2010,” he said.

Arroyo’s men unfazed

But the President’s allies stood firm. “The House is mandated to act and decide on any Cha-cha proposal after it has been filed. The Palace has nothing to do with our action or decision on any Cha-cha proposal,” said House Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria, TJ Burgonio and Allison W. Lopez

(Comment: Hay naku, taghirap na nga ang mga kababayan natin, patuloy pa rin ang CIRCUS at SARSWELA ng mga politiko! Ang kapal na talaga ng mga mukha ng mga ito. Everyone is trying to hold on to power and everyone is 'screwing' everyone just to stay on top. KASO, naiiwan ang taong bayan na naka-tanga sa kahirapan at kawalang direksiyon! Sa akin lang, wala pa sa 500 katao itong mga nasa puwesto na parang mga batang naghaharutan at nag-aaway-away to the expense of the hungry Filipinos! I say we kick the hell many of these corrupt officials and elect young, vibrant, and idealistic Filipinos whose loyalty is to the country first, then to their parties second).