To be fair, there is already talks of amending the 1987 Constitution in order to cope with shifting political realities and needs such as meeting the Bangsamoro people’s call for greater control of their people and more representation from stakeholders in Philippine society.
The House resolution that approved the draft federal system for the country falls quite short of those expectations and then more.
That it took three days of plenary debates to do so raises eyebrows and confirmed long standing fears about its true agenda.
If only for removing term limits for lawmakers in Congress and officials at the local level, the draft federal system should be viewed with unbridled disgust and objected vigorously to the point of extinguishing its repugnance, its very base of existence from public thought.
Perhaps that removal of term limits along with the lifting of foreign ownership limits should give Filipinos more reason to ponder about the wisdom, let alone the safety of giving it their seal of approval should it ever pass through a referendum.
In the event that the draft secures Senate approval and this is not as remote a possibility as anti-federalism advocates believe it to be, it is likely that this administration will piggyback a referendum on the federalism system in time for next year’s elections.
It’s also interesting to note that President Rodrigo Duterte also conditioned his approval of ABS-CBN’s franchise to the TV network’s cooperation with his administration’s federalism campaign.
True, he won’t be a beneficiary of an incoming federal system of government but that doesn’t stop his family and his political allies from reaping the benefits of no term limits via the deletion of an anti-dynasty provision in the 1987 Constituition.
Say what one can about the present Constitution but its founders know all too well the dangers of political dynasties from the fallen Marcos regime and how it had come dangerously close to perpetuating itself in power.
Every elected president since then had in one way or another floated and lobbied for Charter change and now aside from Mr. Duterte, it’s a former president that is leading the charge for a federal system and with it the prospect of entrenched power in the years to come.
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she accepts the possibility that it won’t be passed during their time but her counterpart in the Senate, Senate President Tito Sotto isn’t known for being made of sterner stuff.
Still, we hope there will be senators outside of the opposition who will grow, if not a conscience, at least an awareness however fleeting about the potential danger of giving anyone with the means to perpetuate themselves in power.