DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 14 March)—Filipinos must act fast to oppose any proposal to revise the 1987 Constitution and form networks to raise awareness about the proposed charter change (Cha-Cha), former Bayan Muna Partylist representative Neri Colmenares said.
Former Bayan Muna Partylist representative Neri Colmenares speaks during the forum on “Cha-Cha: Sasayaw o Aayaw? Unboxing the Charter Change under the 1987 Constitution” in Davao City on Thursday (14 March 2024). MindaNews photo by ANTONIO L. COLINA
During a forum on “Cha-Cha: Sasayaw o Aayaw? Unboxing the Charter Change under the 1987 Constitution,” Colmenares said that past attempts to revise the charter in the previous administrations failed due to the widespread opposition from different sectors.
He said mass actions and forums in schools would be helpful in reaching a wider audience or even discussion among smaller groups of people like in the workplace would encourage discussions about Cha-Cha.
He said that raising the awareness of the people would help them make the right decision whether to oppose Cha-Cha.
Colmenares said that calls for Cha-Cha are always stronger at the start even during the previous administrations but added that it will eventually weaken as more people learn about the proposed amendments and how it will affect them once it pushes through.
He said that the “massive poverty and corruption” in the country are not caused by the Constitution and cannot be addressed by revising it, contrary to claims of some proponents of Cha-Cha that they only intend to amend the economic provisions to improve the lives of the people.
He said the government is obsessed with changing the Constitution that they employed the three modes of effecting constitutional reforms—by Congress upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members or Constitutional Assembly, a constitutional convention, and a people’s initiative.
Colmenares added that he criticized the conduct of people’s initiative because it became a “politicians’ initiative” instead of the people.
He explained that under initiative, amendments to the “Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least 12 per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered votes.”
He said that the group behind the initiative were able to hastily gather signatures in 210 out of 254 legislative districts nationwide, possibly using public funds.
He added that it was no less than Albay Representative Edcel C. Lagman and Senator Imee Marcos who revealed that various groups distributed cash to lure the people to sign the signature forms.
Colmenares said that while the initiative has been suspended by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), it can be “revived anytime.”
He added that it is better for the people to express their opposition now, as he feared that the country’s “most dangerous Cha-Cha ever” might succeed if they act late.
“With Cha-Cha, it will take a very long time to change it back because it is so difficult to change it. So, this will affect the next generation of Filipinos. This is not just temporary. It will be very difficult if it is too late,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
