April 30, 2006 · Posted in: Charter Change, Governance
In 1971 and 2006, new charters designed to keep embattled presidents in power
THE PCIJ has just finished a three-part series that looks at the uncanny similarities in the manner in which Ferdinand Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have attempted to change the constitutions prevailing during their incumbency.
The series was written by Raissa Espinosa-Robles who, in 1984, wrote a 14-part series on the Marcos constitution for Business Day. Raissa dug up her files again and found transcripts, interviews and speeches that attest to how similar the current situation is to 1971-73, when Marcos managed to ram through a new constitution.
This series compares historical material and transcripts of recent discussions in the Consultative Commission (ConCom) and found the following similarities:
- Both the 1973 charter and the one currently being proposed were seen primarily as attempts to save an embattled president and keep that president in power by changing the form of government.
- In both, there were sweeteners. In 1972, Marcos offered ConCon delegates who approved the constitution membership in a new National Assembly. In 2006, local officials and congressmen were offered a “no-election” scenario in exchange for their support for the charter.
- Both the 1973 charter and the proposed one give the president extraordinary powers not in the preceding constitutions. These extraordinary powers are to be exercised during a “transition period” where the incumbent president assumes the combined powers of president and prime minister.
- Both the 1971 ConCon and 2006 ConCom proceedings were marked by last-minute provisions and secret dealmaking with Malacañang. Those who are pushing for charter change now are also the same ones who cooperated with Marcos more than 30 years ago: Jose de Venecia, Jose Abueva, Gilberto Duavit, Alfredo Abueg, Pedro Romualdo and Gerardo Espina Sr.
- The 1973 constitution was ratified by hurriedly convened and questionable “citizens’ assemblies,” similar to the ones recently called to certify the people’s initiative for charter change.
Read on at pcij.org. Transcripts of the Concom’s plenary sessions and minutes of the committee meetings can be downloaded here.
13 Responses to In 1971 and 2006, new charters designed to keep embattled presidents in power
freewheel
April 30th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
this guy named Jose Abueva is one pathological liar, claiming that ‘insertions’ effectively restricting freedom of the press and those of the transitory provisions were made without his knowledge and approval,- is pure hogwash.
i do not question his intelligence, he is oozing with it. his memory and appreciation of history however, is without question, akin to that of undomesticated pigs.
do not worry folks, the history books that the Filipino people are going to write will not be remiss in emphasizing this fact.
Abueva is one,… and so are the others, let’s start listing them off !
Cecile Impens
May 1st, 2006 at 2:26 am
An important “note” the Filipinos” ought to remeber well! That 30 years after, the same manipulators surface to sow the same deceptions. These “freedom killers” are using the very same weapon to slaughter us “again”, the way they did during Marcos regime! When are we going to retrieve a valuable lesson from our political/government history? These bullies politicians remain because we let them to. Filipinos, when are you going to open your eyes to Reality?
ryebosco
May 1st, 2006 at 3:02 am
Same liars, same cheaters, same murderers.
If I were presidend or dictator, I’d issue a decree putting these people in a gas chamber.
schumey
May 1st, 2006 at 5:03 am
I hope this report would reach more people so they can see for themselves what the administration is doing. This is “BABUYAN”, plain and simple.
Promdi » Gonzales’s obsession with the Left is spooky
May 1st, 2006 at 10:12 am
[…] * In 1971 and 2006, new charters designed to keep embattled presidents in power […]
chekwa
May 1st, 2006 at 4:22 pm
ang sa akin lang, bakit kasi may mga taong bumoboto pa sa kagaya nila? hindi ba talaga si nadadala sa mga pinaggagagawa ng mga yan? hwag nilang sabihing mabango ang mga animal na yan sa bayan nila at kahit minsan eh walang anomalyang nasangkot ang pangalan ng mga damuhong yan! paulit-ulit na lang ang mga pangyayari. ano bang dapat gawin sa constituents ni de venecia para di na sya iboto? bulag, pipi at bingi ba sila? sana di sila nabibili na kagaya ng mga tao sa probinsya ko. natatandaan ko ang slogan ng oposisyon kay marcos noon: tama na, sobra na, tigilan na, palitan na!
freewheel
May 1st, 2006 at 5:15 pm
i would like to scale down and paraphrase the post i’ve submitted earlier.
some friends thought that it is medically difficult, if not impossible, to prove that the person is a “pathological liar”. and that no matter how we strongly feel about an issue, we must stick to a terminology we can readily prove.
everybody is in agreement that he lied in his claims, however. nobody protested to the alternative term i offered, in terms of historical accuracy.
second, they likewise pointed out that there is no acceptable unit of measurement yet, to gauge undomesticated pig’s concept of history. besides, they felt i may not be doing justice to pigs in general , as they just innocently crush and destroy what we humans have painstakingly built and planted.
my limited facility of the language prevented me from coming up with an alternative term. thus, barring any phrase that everybody would be happy about and until proven otherwise, i’ll just settle with paraphrasing the sentence.
thus said, the post should have read:
1. this guy named Jose Abueva is an incorrigible liar.
2. his memory and appreciation of history, is without question, nearly borders to that of undomesticated pigs.
the rest remains and i stand by it.
CGBacani
May 1st, 2006 at 6:03 pm
There is no question that the dangerous mind of GMA is following the same strategy employed by Marcos from the time she called for the great debate on charter change and the impositions of Martial Law inspired presidential proclamations. It is no wonder that the same players in our history are the ones who will again betray our quest for democracy, simply because they want to perpetuate themselves in power. We will witness once again the repeat of history and its so sad that the same players of will once again commit the same blunder that will bring our country not only to the favorite line of Joe De Venecia as the “sick man of asia” (which he himself contributed by his being a key player) but to the “death man of asia”.
I just wish and pray that under the leadership of Chief Justice Panganiban, the Supreme Court will strike the legal sword to stop this cycle so that we will once step out from the clutches of power hungry politicians in the like of Macapagal and company.
God Bless the Philippines!
Cecile Impens
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:59 am
Chekwa said: bakit kasi may mga taong bomoboto pa sa kagaya nila?
Good question! Pero hindi mo ba napupuna na ang mga botante ay madaling makalimot? Kung tingnan mo ang political strategy ng nangangampanyang politiko, madali mong maunawa-an na ang mga tao ang madaling masulot, mabilis maniwala sa mga pangako. Pupuntahan lang sila sa palengke o kaya sa kanilang barangay ng mga politikong ito, akala nila may dala na itong solusyon sa problema nila. Isang bagay pa, basta may “kaunting lagay” lang, ipagbibili na nila ang kanila boto. Ang nakapagtataka pa, ay ang pagboto sa mga “sportsmen o moviestars”. Para bang akala nila’y pa-pleasing personality itong pamamalakad ng gobyerno. Meron diyan na ibibigay ang boto dahil “kapitbahay” o kaya’y “kababayan” ang politiko. Masaklap na katotohanan, pero isang malaking dahilan bakit basura ang ating politika. Habang hindi nagbabago ang ating pananaw na may malaking responsibilidad tayo bilang mamamayan sa pagpili ng ating representante, walang pagbabago itong Pilipinas.
schumey
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:07 am
I agree with you Cecile, immaturity in voting is the biggest single factor why trapos are elected. Take into consideration regionalism and name recall too. This is the reason why the parliamentary system is not good for our country. Only moneyed politicos will be elected and those who are really “qualified” will be left in the gutters. Political dynasties will flourish and warlordism will once again rise.
Back to the topic. I’m glad that Vicente Paterno has joined the “No to Cha-Cha Movement”. He is a witness to the “indecency” of these so-called constitutionalists. these hooligans should be made to answer their total disregard for what is moral, just and right. I would liken them to “makapilis” who sold their country in exchange for personal gains. We must not allow history to repeat itself. Let us all be more vigilant in the days to come. The future of our children and our country is what’s at stake.
Cecile Impens
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:15 am
This is to invite every visitor here to visit the link(s) PCIJ had provided, for us to consult. By visiting the ConCom Proposals/Recommendations for the Charter Change, it enable me to get more informations concerning this proposed change.
It is unbelievable to me that the 55-man ConCom members could agree to this proposed tyranny against the people. There is no proposal for the upliftment of the poor population, instead, there is the proposal to ” Allow foreigners rights to develop resources in the Philippines! What a contradiction to the public advocacy to safeguard and to preserve our resources from plunders. Indeed, this is an open-door policy to exploit the country’s wealth!
The Presidential provisions are delirious: with these, the President will have the ABSOLUTE power. Arroyo could do whatever she wants in this country. She will be FREE to appoint her own people in the government, she will be the one to decide the number of people she will be employing, at the expense of taxpayers coffers, of course!. What does this mean to us Filipinos? That our Right to Suffrage is in jeopardy, we have nothing to say anymore! We are foreseeing a “new dictator”! It is like resuscitating King Louis XIV of France: he stated in french: “L’Etat c’est Moi” means, The State Is Me!
The worst surprise is the provision that immune the President from any suits and legal proceedings during office. This is a hard slap on the face of the Filipinos! ConCom protrays the role of “band of tyrants! As Edmund Burke said, “Bad laws are the worst sort of Tyranny”.
Cecile Impens
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:30 am
Schumey, thank you very much for adding more facts to complete the arguments. You are right in saying that constant vigilance in the days to come is required from us to assure the future of our children. We can probably do better if we start now to “educate” our children concerning the citizens duties to the country, and not by just making them aware of their rights. A very stony road ahead, but I only view education as an effective tool to progress and awareness. May God bless us!
Charter Change: An Annotated Timeline 1934-2014 » Manuel L. Quezon III
September 5th, 2014 at 5:27 pm
[…] the PCIJ reported in 2006, in 1971 and 2006, New Charters Designed to Keep Embattled Presidents in Power, which makes for a struggle and debate untouched and uninformed by the great debates that took place […]