Cha-cha via Con-con (2)

By Butch Bagabuyo

Conclusion

THE “execom,” which is going to be formed shortly, with a poor man’s purse, would see to it that the big three TV networks in the country  as well as the giant RMN radio stations and the top 3 print  networks would volunteer – pro bono- to ensure that the continuing debates and symposia are well played up in the various tri-media outlets all over the country.

This project is larger than any individual. No doubt about it. And precisely because of its basic importance and the fact that it is bigger than life, with the most able and generous support of Mindanaoans in promoting the “Cha-cha via Con-con,” the movement is going to be the wonder for the year 2013.

In most, if not all, democratic countries, the Bar association or the organization of lawyers is not under the supervision and control of their Supreme Court. If for this alone, I have no doubt that our benign Supreme Court will only be too willing and happy to finally give the lawyers their dignified autonomy if not, absolute freedom through the constitutional convention. With our local government units having been granted autonomy since 1991, they are now more than just ready to go all out for a federal form of government, be it presidential or parliamentary. With the convening of the constitutional convention, the persistent and justified clamor of the 90 million poor Pinoys spread all over the country would certainly be heard and granted the right to manage their own abundant resources and affairs.

In fact, our Mindanao, for one, has all the elements of an emerging island state. However, our population of Muslims, Lumads and Christians opt for a federal form of government. With the federal form of governance, our bountiful God-given resources will be equally and equitably distributed among our own inhabitants first and only a pre-determined residue is given to the federal government. Further, with a federal form of government, there would be no need to suspect of a sellout by the central government. Hence, even the unsound idea of a sub-state would turn to naught and be a surplusage.

As for our judiciary, I have no doubt that our judges and justices are just waiting for the Cha-cha via Con-con to alter our jurassic judicial system. In short, all Pinoys are ready, willing and able to have a new constitution geared towards our legitimate re-claim as among the top leaders of Asia in both natural and human resources.

In the last visit of Butch Canoy of the RMN and chairman of the board of the Canoy Group of Companies this month, he gave his word to help us in convincing the RMN to support our Cha-cha via Con-con campaign. Not only that! The civic-minded executive of the giant RMN radio in the country assured me that he would also go out of his way to win the hearts and minds of the other media executives to support our drive to have a constitutional convention rather than a constitutional assembly.

Mr. Canoy is supportive of our conviction that the framing of the constitution for a hundred million Pinoys is so primordial that it should not be given to anybody else except to the duly elected delegates to the constitutional convention. By its primary task, the senators and the congressmen have to focus their precious time and resources to the making of policies in accord with the 1987 constitution. Otherwise, they ought to resign and run as delegates to the constitutional convention.

The last impeachment trial of the chief justice of the Supreme Court has proven beyond any doubt that our legislators do not have the luxury of time to act as judges and prosecutors of an impeachment trial. Therefore, it is with more reason can we say with finality that the framing of the constitution is so primordial a task that it cannot be left to part-timers, even if they happen to be our honorable congressmen and the senators.

Our constitution is so basic and of prime importance in our democratic way of life that it is priceless and ought not to be limited by time or resources. Neither can the interest of the more than 90 million poor Pinoys be held hostage by some greedy legislators.

Because of its primacy, the delegates to the constitutional convention should and ought to be elected by their respective provinces and cities based on demographics as evidenced by the candidates’ statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, duly certified to by the proper government agencies unlike today, when only the elites have the chance of being elected into public office.

With the continuing debates and symposia all over the country, we would be able to find the best way in ensuring that the delegates to the constitutional convention are based on the demographics of our archipelago rather than on the hidden vested interests of Imperial Manila and the greedy rich and powerful in Congress.