PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s silence on the issue of charter change (cha-cha) during his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) reflected the fragility of his political coalition and the urgency to resolve more pressing problems plaguing the country.
This year’s Sona centered on the announcement to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the reassertion of the country’s defense of its rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the resurging economy based on improvements in agriculture, infrastructure and trade.
Absent from the 82-minute speech was any mention of cha-cha, which the President’s cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, had vigorously advocated but had received lackluster support in the Senate.
Prof. Amr Solon Sison, a former political science professor at UST who now works at Bicol University, said it was “prudent enough” for Marcos to keep his mouth zipped on cha-cha.
“It boils down to the political climate as of the moment,” he told the Varsitarian. “The regime is trying to stabilize its hold on power. That is the political narrative that exists in the country as of the moment.”
Sison said cha-cha’s divisive nature has prompted the President to channel his energies on more unifying subjects, such as banning Pogos and taking a bolder stance on the WPS dispute.
Ever since cha-cha dominated the news cycle in December 2023, the political landscape has changed dramatically. The Uniteam coalition of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio collapsed. Members of the House and Senate squabbled over how and when cha-cha should be handled.
Duterte-Carpio is opposed to any amendment, telling supporters in January to “safeguard” the Constitution from any veiled political interests. Her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been more outspoken, warning Marcos that he will be deposed by the people like his father in 1986 if he revises any political provisions of the charter.
Priorities
A measly eight percent of Filipinos are open to amending the Constitution at this time, as per a Pulse Asia poll published on March 27. Respondents thumbed down the proposal to lift foreign ownership limits on educational institutions, public utilities and advertising firms by a huge margin.
Nearly three-fourths oppose political amendments, including term extensions for elective officials, a shift from bicameral to unicameral legislature and a change to a parliamentary system, among others.
The Senate is not in a hurry to accommodate any cha-cha proposal.
“[P]ending bills on charter change will be placed on the backburner and will follow the ordinary and regular process of legislation, if at all,” Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Monday at the opening of the third regular session of the 19th Congress. “In its stead, bills which can effect the same result – but without the needless political noise and bickering – will be prioritized. This will allow us to focus our energy on measures, which the people truly need.”
Senators have historically quashed hopes for any cha-cha attempt to succeed, especially if they sense they are outnumbered when voting begins.
In a strongly worded manifesto on January 23, all 24 senators rejected amending the Constitution via the people’s initiative, accusing Romualdez and his allies of bankrolling cha-cha “to open the floodgates to a wave of amendments and revisions that will erode the nation as we know it.”
For now, Romualdez has set aside any mention of cha-cha and advocated for granting leases to foreign investors on a long-term basis – a proposal spearheaded by Escudero.
“This is one step where we can hopefully attract foreign investors, where they no longer need to buy lands because we will be giving them a long-term lease contract on the lands they want to utilize,” he said in a media interview on July 3.
“So, we will not sell the lands to foreigners. The foreign investors can have the long-term lease contract that may take as long as 50 years, plus another 40 years, and which may reach 99 years.”
Placing cha-cha on the sidelines has put greater emphasis on other pressing issues that Filipinos endure. Only five percent of respondents approve of the government’s handling of inflation based on a June survey by Pulse Asia.
Majority of those surveyed wanted the President to tackle the rising prices of goods, a concern that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Puwersa ng merkado – sa ating bansa at maging sa buong daigdig – ang siyang nagdidikta ng presyo,” Marcos said in his address. “Bunsod ito, halimbawa, ng giyera, problema sa supply, at puwersa ng kalikasan tulad ng El Niño na nararanasan din sa ibang bansa. Subalit, hindi na ito mahalagang alalahanin ng ating mga kababayang nabibigatan sa presyo ng bigas.”
“Mahal kong mga kababayan, alam kong damang-dama ninyo ito. Hindi natin winawalang-bahala ang inyong mga dinaing at hirap na dinaranas.”
The silence has also quelled fears harbored by opposition figures.
“When the President is not talking about cha-cha, it eases the unease among the opposition [and] some of the segments of the Filipino population [about] fearing another presidential takeover that would lead to a dictatorial government,” Sison said.
The 1987 Constitution was enacted with a clear-cut goal of preventing another dictatorship that marred the Philippines for nearly two decades.
Any attempt to revise the charter needs to be taken off the hands of elected officials, Rey urged, even though they are intertwined with the process.
“It should be initiated by private individuals and the academe to remove doubts of political maneuvering,” he said. Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel
