Eye opener
IF you believe in surveys, then the recent one done by Pulse Asia should be a downer for those who believe they got the people’s support for their push to amend the 1987 Constitution and shift to a federal setup of government. The survey, conducted from March 23 to 28, showed that 64 percent of Filipinos are against amending the 1987 Constitution and 66 percent are against the shift to federalism. That should shake the confidence of the Duterte administration on its stand.
For sometime now, leaders of the administration especially in the House of Representatives are strutting around like peacocks making it appear that the shift to federalism is a done deal. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez even had a timetable that would have set the plebiscite on charter amendments and the shift to federalism this year so no elections could be held in 2019 with incumbents serving on holdover capacity.
The saving grace was the Senate putting some brakes on the Alvarez push, forcing the Duterte administration to be deliberate in its approach to cha-cha and federalism.
Still, for Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, the survey results are encouraging instead of being a downer. In his rather queer logic, he said majority of those surveyed still favored federalism because 23 percent are in favor of it and 31 percent favored constitutional amendments but only in the future. Why he include in his count the 31 percent who would approve of cha-cha only in the future is puzzling. The future is not now.
Pimentel do not actually have to look far for the low approval rating of the cha-cha and federalism push. His father, former senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. is one advocate of federalism who frowned upon the handling by leaders of the Duterte administration of the federalism proposal. It has become obvious personal and partisan interests have intruded into the proposed charter amendments and federal setup.
Had I been included in the survey, I would have been listed with the 31 percent. I have long been opposed to cha-cha and the shift to federalism at this stage when conservative and selfish politicians are dominating the political landscape. Everything is being dismantled nowadays, including the integrity of the three branches of government and the checks and balances provided by the constitution.
Worse, the democratic space and progressive principles that gained ascendancy during the 1986 Edsa people power uprising are being constricted and assaulted. An example is the seeming contempt the dominant politicians have for the principle of universal human rights. Consider also that the Duterte administration is closely associated with the Marcoses. How much