Anthony A. Araos
Do you want to spend billions and billions of pesos for the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention for the purpose of framing a new Charter? Or do you simply want members of the Senate and the House of Representatives form part of a Constituent Assembly for this purpose?
If the decision on the mode of rewriting the Philippine Constitution lies on the hands of Baguio Councilor Faustino Olowan, he wants President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint members of the said body to do the job.
“I am not against the Con-Con (Constitutional Convention) or Con-Ass (Constitutional Assembly) means of rewriting the Philippine Constitution per se, or as a matter of principle. But the government should not be spending so much money for electing the men and women who shall be tasked to come up with a new Charter,” said Olowan, who is also the chairman of the committee on laws at the Baguio City Council.
“Instead, such funds should be used or allocated for other more pressing needs of the Filipino people, most especially the poor, such as schools, health centers and farm-to-market roads in far-flung barangays of the country,” he added.
President Duterte who is embarking on an ambitious legislative agenda to change the Constitution and shift to a federal form of government shut down recently the call for the adoption of the Con-Con mode. He batted for the Con-Ass method instead.
On the other hand, under the Con-Ass scheme, there is a plan to hold morning sessions for congressional matters and afternoon period will be for the charter agenda.
But it has been said by many political analysts that such schedule is not practical as it is a tedious work to handle two vital chores at the same time.
“It is surely unacceptable and unrealistic to hold another costly election in the Philippines for said purpose and obviously the problem is the budget,” Olowan explained.
Councilor Olowan, a lawyer and multi-term lawmaker in the nation’s summer capital, interestingly has taken a position similar to one akin to that of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and many others in the two chambers of Congress. Councilor Olowan is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). The NPC is aligned to the so-called Super Majority bloc at the House of Representatives. Most of the super majority coalition members are with the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) party. House Speaker Alvarez has proposed the creation of the 20- member constitutional commission (Con-Com).
Speaker Alvarez noted that holding a Con-Con whose delegates will be elected directly by the people through their legislative districts will cause the government somewhere between Php6 billion to Php7 billion.
On the issue on Federalism, Olowan has expressed his full and unqualified support for the stance taken by the chief executive.
Olowan, who is wholeheartedly supporting the Duterte administration’s agenda to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people, said amending the Constitution signifies the people’s aspirations for a better future.
“As a lawyer and legislator, I stand side-by-side with President Duterte’s noble intentions to have the nation’s wealth and resources distributed equally and rightfully to our people,” he said.
He added: “I am committed to enjoin my colleagues in the city to support it so that together we can elevate our efforts in attaining our shared vision for a better and prosperous Philippines.”
Councilor Olowan recalled that even in the past a significant number of Filipinos voiced out the need to adopt a federal type of government.
Moreover, the articulate and hardworking lawmaker from Barangay Lucnab said that the plan to grant autonomy status for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) may follow after the creation of a federal region in this part of the country. Reportedly, the Northern Luzon Region under the proposed federal system shall be composed of the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley region and the CAR.
With this development, all eyes are focused on the historic Northern Luzon Federal Forum in Baguio City. The Albert Hall at the Teachers Camp is the venue of the half-day, all-important undertaking. Speakers are former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. and former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. Lawyer Raul Lambino, a long time civic leader and political figure of Pozorrubio Pangasinan, is the chief moderator. A number of highly-placed officials from Baguio City, Tabuk City, CAR, Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley region are in attendance. This also applies to the highly urbanized and component cities in these regions.
In a related development, Ifugao Board Member Clemente Bongtiwon of Banaue has expressed his backing of the plan to shift the present presidential type of government into a federal one. He filed a resolution recently at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan outlining the need to rewrite the charter through the Con-Con mode.
He likewise sounded the vitality of holding another forum outside of Baguio City, particularly in Ifugao as a means of enlightening the people on the merits of federalism. He suggested that a similar forum maybe conducted either in Lagawe or Banaue.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior Local Government-Ifugao Provincial Director Rosario Dumelod has designated Cluster Head Samson Appoy and Local Government Operations Officer V Florita Narciza to represent DILG-Ifugao in the forum.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government, under the able and strong leadership of Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno, is in the forefront of pushing the agenda of President Duterte on the concern regarding the shift to a Federal form of government in the Philippines.
A recent Pulse Asia Survey however showed that most Filipinos are not in favor of charter change. Thus, the government has gone on high gear to conduct a massive information campaign in the grassroots level. The final charter draft shall be submitted to a plebiscite where the people will vote for or against it.**