The plot is beginning to unravel. After all the denials that the moves to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution is being done to suit the hidden agenda of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, it is now becoming clear that the charter change (cha-cha) initiatives, begun as early as 2006, had just one goal in mind — to keep Arroyo in power beyond 2010.
So much for hypocritical claims that the recent attempt to ram the constitutional assembly (con-ass) resolution down the throats of the Filipino people was to enable Congress to amend certain economic provisions of the Constitution to be at par with the realities of the times. So much for claims that the cha-cha initiatives would not be a detriment to the holding of the 2010 presidential elections and that the con-ass resolution was not designed to extend the terms of the current officials and to perpetuate Arroyo in power.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman (yes, the same Cabinet official who, together with his son and their bodyguards, figured in a golf brawl at the Valley Golf Club a few months ago) confirmed one of our worst fears – that Arroyo and his puppets at the House of Representatives were eyeing a new term as prime minister for Arroyo in an expected shift to a parliamentary form of government.
Pangandaman, as recklessly as his son beat up the hapless father-and-son golfers at the Valley golf course, told reporters that Arroyo would definitely run for a Congress seat in her home district in Pampanga, a plan that became obvious when Arroyo, who has been accused by his province mates as having abandoned them, suddenly became homesick and visited Pampanga 17 times in recent weeks and started kissing babies and shaking the hands of fellow Kapampangans.
Malacanang was quick to deny Pangandaman’s story, and the Cabinet secretary was quick to claim the next day that he was misquoted.
The Pangandaman slip (confirmation, actually) and Arroyo’s sudden infatuation with her home province immediately raised speculations among political pundits. One is that Arroyo is going to run for a Congress seat in preparation for an eventual shift to parliamentary government, which could happen before May 2010 if Nograles’ con-ass moves hurdle the Supreme Court gauntlet, or which the new Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo can held orchestrate after May 2010.
Another speculation is that Arroyo is running for a Congress seat to avail of the immunity granted to members of both the House and Senate while the two chambers are in session. But it has been correctly pointed out that the immunity is limited to crimes that are punishable with six years imprisonment, which would not apply to Arroyo because she is expected to be charged with plunder and corruption, the first being punishable with life term or death, and the other punishable with a prison sentence that could last a lifetime depending on the nature of the corruption committed.
I am more inclined to believe the first assumption, for the simple reason that Arroyo would not risk an uncertain parliamentary immunity and by the way her allies are moving heaven and earth to convene Congress into a constituent assembly even if they had to bypass the Senate, violate the very constitution they wish to amend, and put the country in peril of chaos and anarchy.
Expect the so-called House of Gloria to enforce House Resolution 1109 in July when Congress resumes session despite the refusal of the Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality. Ruling that since nothing has happened yet after the passage of HR 1109, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed Tuesday for being premature two petitions challenging the constitutionality of the resolution.
In a full court resolution written by Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, the SC also ruled that lawyer Oliver Lozano and his lawyer-daughter Evangelina, and Louis Biraogo, who filed the two petitions, have no legal standing to challenge HR 1109.
The Senate and the opposition refuse to take the bait, knowing that Nograles and company wanted to bring the issue before the Supreme Court, where they hope the Arroyo appointees, who comprise the majority, would follow the path of the House, follow Malacanang’s orders blindly, and use their numerical superiority to validate the patently illegal House maneuver.
Nonetheless, Arroyo’s allies in the House could throw caution to the wind and convene Congress into a constituent assembly without the benefit of a separate Senate approval in July in a bid to amend the constitution to their liking before the campaign for the May 2010 elections begins.
The senators and the opposition would then have no recourse but to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court.
But all these presuppose that Arroyo would win hands down a congressional or a parliamentary seat representing the second district of Pampanga, which is now represented by Arroyo’s son, Mikey. The district’s residents have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the Arroyos, who, they said, have ignored their basic needs.
It must be recalled that Arroyo’s personal candidate in the province was crushed by a relatively unknown priest in the gubernatorial election. Will Arroyo take the risk of losing in her own district? Will she take the risk of the opposition forces ganging up on her in that small district?
For all we know, it could be another ploy by this cunning and deceitful administration to make the people believe there would indeed be elections in 2010, and hopefully, while their attention is focused on the polls, Arroyo and her allies would spring a surprise. What that surprise would be is another subject of wild rumors and speculations.
The plot is unraveling, but it can take other twists and turns along the way. If all else fails, Arroyo could as well seek safe haven in one of several countries she has been visiting lately.