As Congress moves to replace the 1987 Constitution, dissenting voices from two former chief justices should stoke the flames of debate and encourage the Filipino populace from all over the country and even beyond to discuss actively whether it is high time or not to do so.
Being one of the original framers of the 1987 Constitution it was understandable where former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. spoke from but the way he described the moves of Congress for Charter change with the end goal of finally instituting a federal form of government should give pause.
“My position is: A shift to federalism is a lethal experiment, a fatal leap, a plunge to death, a leap to hell,” the former Cebuano chief justice declared during last Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments.
It would have been better if Davide had produced even a laundry list of reasons why amending or even overhauling the 1987 Constitution would be a “lethal experiment” as he put it for the country.
That would substantiate his arguments against those posed by both former chief justice Reynato Puno and former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr. to justify their push for federalism.
To be sure, there is a need to update the 1987 Constitution to give teeth to the Local Government Code which proponents of federalism argued had failed to give autonomy to local governments and made them subservient to “Imperial Manila.”
But for critics of the Duterte administration, one need not look far on why Davide insisted that the current 1987 Constitution remains the bedrock of governance in the country and why it is still the best for Filipinos.
The president’s allies are practically railroading Charter change and their plans for federalism by insisting that both houses of Congress immediately convene into a constituent assembly which the Senate thankfully refused.
Doing so would not only dilute their independence but render them absolutely subservient to the Lower House since they have the numbers and the Senate only has 24 members.
And it is this point at least that Davide, Pimentel and Puno agree on: that if there would be Charter change and if there is a need to replace the present unitary presidential system with a federal system then it should be done right.
And to do it right means having to create a Constitutional Convention which President Rodrigo Duterte is said to have started with a committee chaired by Puno to oversee the amendments and facilitate the transition from presidential to a federal form of government.
Doing it right means not setting a timetable as dictated by Duterte’s allies spearheaded by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who had exposed his motives along with those of fellow lawmakers by admitting that they would extend their terms indefinitely.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
