CHARTER CHANGE MAY TRIGGER REVOLT–SENATOR

November 22, 2008  

From The Manila Times:

By Efren L. Danao Senior, Reporter

Forcing Charter change or “Cha-cha” before 2010 would spark another “people power” uprising, a senator warned on Friday.

Two such revolts toppled two presidents, Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001, with the influential Roman Catholic Church playing decisive roles in both instances.

In making the warning, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, now aligned with the minority bloc, said his group would challenge attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution before the election for president two years from now.

Pangilinan and his fellow members of the Senate minority issued the statement on stopping Charter change, or “Cha-cha,” after 163 congressmen signed a joined resolution seeking to convene the House and the Senate into a Constituent Assembly to tinker with the Constitution. A three-fourths vote or 178 of the 238 members of the House is needed to convene such assembly.

Pangilinan said the Arroyo administration should not test the patience of “a deeply disappointed people” as he urged proponents of Charter change to junk their plan “lest it sparks another uprising.”

“Despite our obvious handicap, the new minority in the Senate will do everything in its power to stop any attempt at Charter change,” he added.

Sen. Pia Cayetano echoed Pangilinan’s opposition to “Cha-cha.”  “We may just be the minority in the Senate, but we share the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of our people who are opposed to any changes in the Charter before 2010,” she said.  Cayetano added that she finds it suspicious that the House of Representatives renewed its efforts after a change in the Senate leadership and after Press Secretary Jesus Dureza had prayed that President Gloria Arroyo’s tenure extend beyond 2010. New Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is a long-time proponent of a parliamentary-federal form of government.  

“The public can count on the new minority in the Senate to stand up against renewed efforts to tinker with the Charter to serve the unpatriotic and selfish agenda of a few,” she said.  

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