Why Charter Change won’t benefit the Philippines
Firstly what is Charter Change?
(Context)
It refers to a constitutional reform known locally in the Philippines as “Cha-Cha”, a call to reform or
revise the Philippine 1987 Constitution in accordance in said constitution to Article XVII Section 1 which
states that: “Any amendments to, or revisions of, this Constitution may be proposed by:”
1. The congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Member’s; or:
2. A constitutional convention.
3. A People’s Initiative
An amendment can be proposed by using either of three methods listed above prescribed by the legal
process of the Constitution itself, this is after the proposals are passed in both bicameral houses of
Congress and the Senate. It can only take effect if the Filipino people allow such changes, this is where
the People’s Initiative take its role, as in all nation states that follow the principles of democracy the
People has the ultimate power and sovereignty to any constitutional changes or reforms as said in
Article XVII Section 4 paragraph 2. The current Constitution was introduced in 1987 after Marcos Sr. was
ousted in a popular revolution known as EDSA Revolution in 1986, and hasn’t been amended since.
The Current amendment proposals are to reform sections of the Constitution regarding, economic
provisions that will relax restrictions to foreign ownership in order to boost foreign investments, political
provisions transitioning into either Parliamentary System or Federal System modeled after the United
States & Canada, and even extending the term limits of the President together with other Legislative
officials.
(Thesis)
The issue with this according to one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution is that there is no need to
reform the constitution as it already is a strong pillar of the Philippine Republic, he added that the
Marcos Administration should focus on the implementation of the current Constitution rather than
attempt a radical reform which might spark a political crisis in our country, this is after former President
Rodrigo Duterte’s statements about the separation of the island of Mindanao if Marcos persist with his
proposed drafts. A further issue is that the average Filipino does not even know what the Constitution is,
what it contains, and what it is for, this poses a massive problem for the Marcos Administration for
many Filipino’s are ignorant of both Charter Change and the 1987 Constitution according to a PSA survey
in September of 2022, 79% of respondents admit having little to no knowledge of the current
constitution. The ignorance among the common people are being exploited by corrupt politicians with
bribery, many fear that Marcos Jr. might follow the tyrannical dictatorship that his father Ferdinand Sr.
did when he declared martial law in 1972 an indication is that both Marcoses proposed radical changes
in the form of an overhaul in the structure of government. The provisions if passed will only benefit
those in power and not the common working class people of the Philippines. A further setback is the
public’s opinion about “Cha-Cha” , The pollster surveyed 1,200 respondents nationwide, said that 41%
of Filipinos agreed to amend the constitution but 45% prefer to postpone Charter Change and instead
tackle more serious issues like climate change, raising of minimum wage and inflation.
Why Charter Change won’t benefit the Philippines
(Supporting reason 1)
The first attempt to amend the 1987 Constitution was under former President Fidel V. Ramos’s
administration in 1997, however the petition filed by the People’s initiative was dismissed by the
Supreme Court, under the Chief Justice at the time Andres Narvasa on September 23 1997, following a
rally organized by the Catholic Church and called by Bishop Jose Manguiran of Dipolong took to Rizal
Park with an approximate half a million people who answered the call to protest in order to gain the
attention of the Government and state their disagreement.
President’s Estrada, Arroyo, Aquino and Duterte all tried their luck to pass similar provisions over the
courses of their terms and all attempts were futile, in just 20 years of the Constitutions existence there
have been 5 failed attempts to pass a proposed draft in revising the Constitution, a 6th one is in ongoing
as of February 2024 under President Bong-Bong Marcos Jr. and his allies in Congress, which has already
been under fire from different political parties, religious groups such as the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) and opposition Senators
Led by Risa Hontiveros joined rallies on the 38th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution
calling for Filipinos to reject the People’s Initiative offering money in exchange for voter signatures.
These failed drafts in just the span of 20 years are a lasting testament that the people does not want a
new constitution rather it’s the Politicians who are hungry for influence and wish to remain in their
positions far longer that mandated by law and exposes the grim reality and corruption within the
government. What the people need is the proper implementation of its laws and a flexible transparent
governance to address the issues that the Philippines currently plague from.
(Explanation for supporting reason 1)
The Philippines is notorious for having the toughest policies on foreign investments in Asia. The country
limits foreign ownership across industries with a general rule of no more than 40%, it also forbids
foreign equity in mass media. Law makers have passed several laws that would ease such restrictions
and open the Philippines up to foreign investors, though they have been subject of debate for their
constitutionality. President Marcos Jr.’s reform plan however has drawn oppositions from critics who
are fearful that the move to amend the constitution ostensibly for economic purposes will be used to
extend his term limits which currently are limited to one six year term (Article VII Section 4).
(Supporting reason 2)
According to Atty. Christian Monsod, the reason why many politicians are loudly advocating to amend
the constitution is, it is self-serving and mainly benefits themselves, for example by longer terms, on
more authoritarian powers for the President and several other provisions that do not address the real
problems of poverty and inequality in our country and they blame the Constitution as the factor for such
limitations. The Constitution is the way to address these issues according to Article II Section 9 (State
Policies and Principles 1987 Constitution), said Atty. Monsod. He further added that the answer to these
problems is to execute the Constitution to its fullest, to use the programs on the Constitution with
regards to social justice such as addressing education and health In the forms of Asset Reform Programs,
Agrarian Reform, Local Land Reform and Housing and Fishery, all of these programs are under
performing either because they are underfunded, the congress putting restrictions to circumvent the
law and corruption.
Why Charter Change won’t benefit the Philippines
(Explanation for reason 2)
The point is, there is no need to reform, revisions or alternations of the Constitution to grow the
economy, the Government has neglected social justice to the sectors of farmers, fishers and local
industries and is now finding an excuse to further abandon any plans to implement what is mandated by
the Constitution in the form of booting foreign investments and tightening their grip in power.
(Counter argument against thesis)
According to Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe recounted that in March 2023 the House approved on
third reading Resolution of both Houses (RBH) No. 6, which calls for a constitutional convention to
propose amendments to or revision of the economic provisions for the Philippine Constitution. “Klaro
klaro na economic provisions lang. Read first what we filed instead of trying to speculate. You can review
all the records, check what we have transmitted to the senate” Said Delipe, countering claims that the
proposed charter change intends to “perpetuate the administrative power.” Delipe underscored that it
is not a secret that the House has been advocating to update the nearly 37-year old Constitution. He
added that the House pledges its full support whether the economic provisions of the Constitution
would be amended through a people’s initiative or the Senate’s version of RBH 6, which calls for a
Constituent Assembly.
(Reasons/Conclusions of counter argument)
Furthermore the Committee on Constitutional Amendments chairperson Cagayan de Oro City Rep.
Rufus Rodriguez cited that more than 350 House bills have already been filed since 1988. He explained
that the organizations from the business sector stressed urgent need for such changes, noting that the
Philippines is lagging behind its neighboring countries in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) growth
rate due to the limited foreign investments that the Constitution mandates. Deputy speaker Kristine
Singson-Meehan explained that the foreign investments that would enter the country could help
augment the government’s budget, allowing more funding for social services. Marcos Jr. clarified his
intensions in a speech during the 88th Constitution day on February 8 2024, is only limited to economic
provision “I want to make it clear, this administration’s position in introductive reforms to our
Constitution extend to economic matters alone, for those strategically aimed to boost our country’s
economy nothing more” (Pres. Marcos Jr.)
(Conclusion)
Many have since regretted voting for Marcos Jr. as he failed to address his promises during his election
campaign, and many Filipinos don’t feel any changes implemented by his administration, many for voice
against his plans to revise the 37-year old Constitution which for the past 6 administrations failed to
accomplish what it has mandated in addressing issues that plague Filipino society. Together with the
overwhelming number of ignorance in the existence of the current Constitution, the corruption of top
level officials in distributing money to bribe voters and the eminent failure of “Cha-Cha” whether
economic or political in nature. This serves as a reminder to Filipinos to always remain vigilant about the
current issues that will affect their lives either directly or indirectly.
Why Charter Change won’t benefit the Philippines
Researcher and Fact Checker
John, Philip E. Rizardo
Writer of Supporting Reason 1
Princess Faith S. Atilano
Researcher for Counter Arguments
Nicoline Mae T. Gumia