People’s Initiative arguments
To pre-empt the ongoing People’s Initiative signature campaign to amend the provision of voting by Congress sitting as a Constituent Assembly in amending or revising the 1987 Constitution, Senate President Migz Zubiri has filed Resolution of Both Houses 6, calling for amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution. The 1987 Constitution provides three methods in proposing amendments: A People’s Initiative, a Constituent Assembly, or a Constitutional Convention. Amendments via People’s Initiative cannot be stopped by either the executive, legislative, or the judiciary branch because this is an act reserved to the sovereign.
Strictly speaking, therefore, even if there is a call by the legislature for a constituent assembly, it does not bar the people from initiating a People’s Initiative to amend the Constitution. Even if all the heads of the three branches of government agree to an amendment to the Constitution, it will not preclude the people from initiating their own proposal.
While there may not be much argument on this legal point, all the gatekeepers of the 1987 Constitution, traditional media, and those who oppose change in the Charter question whether this on-going People’s Initiative campaign is really coming from the people, and whether or not the people really understand the particular amendment that is being proposed by them.
I think this is nothing more than a deep-rooted sentiment and political bias against those who try to introduce changes to an imperfect document. Did we ever question whether the 16.6 million Filipinos who voted yes to ratify the 1987 Constitution really understood the content of a document that is 32,000 words long? Of course not. It was more of a vote of confidence for thenPresident Cory Aquino, a ratification of her victory in the 7 February 1986 election (see Section 5, Article XVIII, Transitory Provisions).
It’s hard for the gatekeepers of the 1987 Constitution to accept the ongoing People’s Initiative campaign because this method of amending the Constitution is a consequence of the People Power revolt in 1986. To them, it is available only in times when the people are shackled by an abusive government. It is this fear of another dictatorship.
Ironically, it is this fear that led us to path dependency. Path dependency in economics refers to the tendency to rely on past experiences for outcomes rather than current conditions. This path dependence has greatly impacted our economic and market development. As President Marcos Jr. aptly puts it, the 1987 Constitution is not written for a globalized world. The gatekeepers are stuck to the past.
Can the people not take action through the People’s Initiative in support of change? What if the people support their leader’s call for change through this method of People’s Initiative?
We cannot continue to define People’s Initiative the way it suited us from 40 years ago. Same strategies, same results. We are now in the age of globalization and digitalization; we have to act. against Hamas in Gaza do not result in genocide. It also asked Israel to ensure the unhampered pouring of humanitarian aid to civilians still in Gaza caught in the crossfire between the Israeli Defense Force and Hamas.
Guterres practically asked UNRWA donor nations not to throw the baby with the bathwater when he manifested that the agency was only tainted by a few bad eggs, the 12 now being investigated by the UN.
Of the 12, nine had been fired, one is dead and the identities of the two others are still being verified, the UN chief said. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for
UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized,” he said. “The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”
If Guterres wants to ensure that humanitarian assistance to Gaza civilians does not stop, he should pull all the stops and remove and replace all of its officials and personnel assigned with UNRWA. What the UN agency needs is a clean slate and not a half-hearted pledge to investigate its participation in the attack on Israel.
UNRWA cannot come to the table with an unclean hand and project to be doing humanitarian work. Here, Israel has squarely put the blame on the UN leadership when it said Guterres ignored evidence presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “incitement and terrorism.”
Israel has maintained that any country that continues to fund UNRWA “before a comprehensive investigation of the organization should know that its money will be used for terrorism and the aid that will be transferred to UNRWA may reach the Hamas terrorists instead of the population in Gaza.”
Hamas, as expected came to the defense of UNRWA, when it asked the UN and other international organizations not to cave in to “threats and blackmail” coming from Israel.
The buck stops nowhere else but on his doorsteps, Guterres should be mindful of this fact. UNRWA’s complicity with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel can’t be swept under the rug. There’s no begging for funding for a tainted agency. Dismantle the UNRWA and rebuild trust first before mouthing the word “humanitarian” ever again.
“Path dependency in economics refers to the tendency to rely on past experiences for outcomes rather than current conditions.
“Even ifallthe headsof thethree branchesof government agreetoan amendment tothe Constitution, itwillnot precludethe peoplefrom initiating theirown proposal.
“It’s
an undeniable fact that UNRWA resources, including its vehicles and supplies, were used by Hamas during its murderous rampage.