The Church has spoken—and it said no—that is, no to Charter change, not until after the 2010 presidential elections.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has urged the government to forego any plans of amending the Constitution, stating that we should not allow selfish interest to undermine democracy.
Change should come from the people, and not the laws they think should bend according to their own interests. The CBCP’s stand about Cha-cha is understandable—their concern is not really about a total objection, but more of making sure that the process is done properly, which is that any amendment of the Charter should be made through a constitutional convention whose members are elected.
Others see that change is a good thing, especially if the intentions are focused in addressing problems and improving a certain situation. In the case of the current push to change the Constitution, the CBCP believes that the government was not focusing on the country’s real problem: corruption.
Cha-cha or no Cha-cha, the CBCP’s statement rings true—corruption does abound the government, and any change in law will fall short of its true intentions if the people who are supposed to implement and follow these remain unchanged. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published on December 19, 2008 in Asian Journal San Francisco p. A6 )
