Cha-cha: New Filipinos, not ‘New Philippines’
“Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution that must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties... We, the people, are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” — Abraham Lincoln
Dear lawmakers and government officials, it would do you well to instead serve the country (sans the rot and rut of partisanship and myopic governance) by quickly switching your passion from cha-cha (Charter change) to doing sensible things that would truly solve our nation’s problems head-to-head, toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball, and thereby alleviate the plight of the Filipino people.
Set aside politics and political ambitions. Go back to your seats — or yourselves.
Address inflation — proper, straight and plumb. Crush the massive and unabated corruption in the government, jail the crooks, thugs and murderous, chuck confidential/intelligence and pork barrel funds, uphold justice, break off all forms of influence-peddling and interference in court decisions, put an end to military and police brutalities, promote righteousness, resist oppression, defeat official inanities, craf t needed, long-overdue electoral reforms, eradicate addictions, vices and insurrections — but foster human rights and preserve human lives. Beat the real terrorists (within).
Work on developing the nation correctly, sanely, and wisely. Stop importations, patronize our own, pulverize smuggling, dismantle cartels, quash corporate greed, help small businesses, break/mash political turpitudes, modernize truly, not “contemporize” autocracy, secure our territories, spank the naive, bullies and bullying.
Narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, educate the unlettered and indigent, and civilize neglected communities in the countryside with potable water, electricity, roads, health clinics, and internet access. Care for the future Filipino generations, love yourself, humanize politics, open blinded eyes, heal the sick, set captives free, raise the dead, etcetera.
Ponder this: Even if a nation has the most beautiful, ideal, and “most perfect” Constitution in the world, it would be useless and worthless if the hearts of that nation’s leaders were not correct and upright, rotten to the core. Take a mirror to see and realize what I mean (pathetic) — or you are compelled to buy one if you don’t have your own, but not made in China, please.
First things first. Work on what is on the inside of each of you (which no physical mirror can reveal) — and not on what is on the surface/icing of the land’s fundamental laws and statutes. Take shades or blinkers off. Dare not tamper on the purity and sanctity of our Constitution — with strokes, kernels, and staples (vile and vicious) — hidden, mixed, and diluted underneath. Tampering is not the word, but tempering (of greed).
The Philippine Constitution in its current form and ethos, for all its imperfections and “flaws,” is good so far, workable and governable, and will never need any change or amendment — unless and until (perhaps) the hearts that rule and govern our nation are changed and “amended.”
Meanwhile, how true is it that the additional budget of P12 billion allotted (cannily) by Congress to Comelec is intended and being earmarked (verily) for the cha-cha plebiscite? Outrageous! Dubious. Do justly.
It is a moral/spiritual amendment, not a Constitutional amendment — economic corruption, not economic provision. Attracting development, not attracting “investment” (or folly). Divine initiative or supreme people initiative, not “people’s initiative.” Character reform, not constitutional reform. Heart change, not Charter change. New Filipinos, not “New Philippines.”