LETTERS
FROM THE AGNO
March Fianza
March Fianza
BAGUIO CITY -- The
Mercury could have dropped from 10 degrees Celsius to eight while we were
watching goats sunbathing on a big flat rock sitting on the edge of a cliff at
Paoay, Atok. I cannot clearly recall, but suddenly I was there at Goat Cliff in
1984 with Baguio musicians.
Last Sunday’s chilly hours at 10.4 degrees Celsius, according to PAGASA, brought me 37 years back to that day when for some good reason; Conrad, Randy, Fred, Sammy, Richard and I sat by Halsema, counting how many vegetable trucks traveled from Atok’s gardens to the La Trinidad trading station.
We enjoyed doing what we did but we lost count. Times are different now unlike the 70s and 80s when one can just slip away to nowhere. Now, I have to watch over playful apos who might accidentally fall off the stairs while I write this piece.
We have been experiencing the cold weather drop to six degrees Celsius or lower since the 60s that I knew all along as Northeast Monsoon that forms in Siberia and Mongolia.
Honestly, maybe I was not paying attention. That was why I learned only recently that the “hanging Amihan” was the cold weather system that PAGASA was talking about. Honestly too, my highest grade in Pilipino was 69.
All along, what was planted in the mind was “hanging Amihan” related to typhoons. I was wrong. It was the weather the farmers hated but the tourists from the lowlands loved. It is the season when sidewalk vendors of knitted bonnets and mufflers are happy.
In January 1961, records showed that Baguio’s mercury dipped to its lowest at 6.3 degrees Celsius. Surely, it was far colder in Paoay, Atok and Sinipsip, Buguias in Benguet. Maybe there were even colder moments in the past that were unrecorded.
***
The world saw what took place a week ago when pro-Trump rioters launched an insurrection and attacked the Capitol, the people’s congress in Washington DC.
The deadly mob attack when Congress was confirming president-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes was due to the bidding of Donald Trump who cannot accept defeat.
In times when Americans are dying by the thousands due to COVID-19, when the vaccine to save infected communities is about to roll out, and when that so called great country is about to install a new president because it practically had none for the last four years, the world witnesses how Trump incited violence with his false claims of election fraud.
Donald Trump changed US political history by becoming the first president to be impeached twice after being charged with “incitement of insurrection” over last week's deadly riot inside the Capitol.
I just received messages from friends and relatives in the US, wishing to come home since they fear for their lives. There are talks of civil wars in many of the states even after a new president has been installed, while Trump faces trial at the Senate. Signs of uncertainty and hard times to come.
****
When is the right time to amend the Constitution?
I am sure many of us still remember the Luneta rally on September 21, 1997 that was suspected why two days later, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by the People's Initiative for Reform, Modernization and Action (PIRMA), which sought to amend the 1987 Constitution through a signature campaign.
Incidentally, I was buying coffee and Marlboro from a cigarette vendor near Dr. Jose Rizal’s grassy park when opposition politicians, religious organizations, businessmen and NGOs marched in, shouting their opposition to PIRMA.
Had the petition been approved by the SC during the last years of President Ramos, a national plebiscite would have been held for the proposed changes. Filipinos could have had a new Constitution in 1988 and congress in the years that followed, until today, would not be talking about cha-cha.
In the 1935 Constitution, the dream in its preamble wished for “blessings of independence” because it was framed when the Philippines was not yet independent, so that in 1973 or 38 years later, President Marcos convened a constitutional convention that wrote a new Constitution.
The 1973 Martial Law Constitution was only 13 years old when President Cory, after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, convened a constitutional commission that framed the 1987 Constitution. But it was a “reactionary law” in response to the excesses of the Marcos regime. Many important issues were overlooked.
During President Estrada’s term, the Constitutional Correction for Development (CONCORD) proposed to amend only the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution that restricted the entry of more foreign investments in the country. Again, opposition politicians, religious groups and left-wing organizations accused Erap’s administration of pushing constitutional reform for its own interests.During President GM Arroyo’s time in 2004, she issued Executive Order No. 453 that tasked a Consultative Commission to collect proposals that included economic liberalization, further decentralization of national government, more empowerment of local governments.
Thus, Sigaw ng Bayan and ULAP were created to gather signatures for a plebiscite on the proposed constitutional changes. Again, the initiative was opposed by left-wing organizations, politicians, religious groups and businessmen claiming untimeliness of the proposed amendments, alleging further that GMA and allies would directly benefit from the proposed changes.
Under President Noynoy Aquino, several proposals were made by different members of Congress, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., who called for constitutional reforms in addition to economic liberalization.
Most proponents recognize the reality today that opening up the economy to a level playing field can benefit the people, the reason why Congress insists on more foreign investments, and allow Philippine businesses more participation in the world market.
But at present, restrictions in the 1987 Constitution make it hard for the country to be part of an agreement with foreign business. Several ASEAN nations for example, had wealthier economies by opening their borders to all foreigners who wanted to do business in their countries.
The answer to the question above is “now”. There is a need to amend the 1987 Constitution now. We cannot have the 1987 charter forever. Constitutional changes can be made provided the proponents or framers of the law perform their tasks with the welfare of the people in mind, over and above personal benefits.
The charter should be prospective, applicable only to future politicians, to avoid allegations that the law is self-serving. More importantly, sovereign power to make the last decision should be with the people.
Last Sunday’s chilly hours at 10.4 degrees Celsius, according to PAGASA, brought me 37 years back to that day when for some good reason; Conrad, Randy, Fred, Sammy, Richard and I sat by Halsema, counting how many vegetable trucks traveled from Atok’s gardens to the La Trinidad trading station.
We enjoyed doing what we did but we lost count. Times are different now unlike the 70s and 80s when one can just slip away to nowhere. Now, I have to watch over playful apos who might accidentally fall off the stairs while I write this piece.
We have been experiencing the cold weather drop to six degrees Celsius or lower since the 60s that I knew all along as Northeast Monsoon that forms in Siberia and Mongolia.
Honestly, maybe I was not paying attention. That was why I learned only recently that the “hanging Amihan” was the cold weather system that PAGASA was talking about. Honestly too, my highest grade in Pilipino was 69.
All along, what was planted in the mind was “hanging Amihan” related to typhoons. I was wrong. It was the weather the farmers hated but the tourists from the lowlands loved. It is the season when sidewalk vendors of knitted bonnets and mufflers are happy.
In January 1961, records showed that Baguio’s mercury dipped to its lowest at 6.3 degrees Celsius. Surely, it was far colder in Paoay, Atok and Sinipsip, Buguias in Benguet. Maybe there were even colder moments in the past that were unrecorded.
***
The world saw what took place a week ago when pro-Trump rioters launched an insurrection and attacked the Capitol, the people’s congress in Washington DC.
The deadly mob attack when Congress was confirming president-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes was due to the bidding of Donald Trump who cannot accept defeat.
In times when Americans are dying by the thousands due to COVID-19, when the vaccine to save infected communities is about to roll out, and when that so called great country is about to install a new president because it practically had none for the last four years, the world witnesses how Trump incited violence with his false claims of election fraud.
Donald Trump changed US political history by becoming the first president to be impeached twice after being charged with “incitement of insurrection” over last week's deadly riot inside the Capitol.
I just received messages from friends and relatives in the US, wishing to come home since they fear for their lives. There are talks of civil wars in many of the states even after a new president has been installed, while Trump faces trial at the Senate. Signs of uncertainty and hard times to come.
****
When is the right time to amend the Constitution?
I am sure many of us still remember the Luneta rally on September 21, 1997 that was suspected why two days later, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by the People's Initiative for Reform, Modernization and Action (PIRMA), which sought to amend the 1987 Constitution through a signature campaign.
Incidentally, I was buying coffee and Marlboro from a cigarette vendor near Dr. Jose Rizal’s grassy park when opposition politicians, religious organizations, businessmen and NGOs marched in, shouting their opposition to PIRMA.
Had the petition been approved by the SC during the last years of President Ramos, a national plebiscite would have been held for the proposed changes. Filipinos could have had a new Constitution in 1988 and congress in the years that followed, until today, would not be talking about cha-cha.
In the 1935 Constitution, the dream in its preamble wished for “blessings of independence” because it was framed when the Philippines was not yet independent, so that in 1973 or 38 years later, President Marcos convened a constitutional convention that wrote a new Constitution.
The 1973 Martial Law Constitution was only 13 years old when President Cory, after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, convened a constitutional commission that framed the 1987 Constitution. But it was a “reactionary law” in response to the excesses of the Marcos regime. Many important issues were overlooked.
During President Estrada’s term, the Constitutional Correction for Development (CONCORD) proposed to amend only the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution that restricted the entry of more foreign investments in the country. Again, opposition politicians, religious groups and left-wing organizations accused Erap’s administration of pushing constitutional reform for its own interests.During President GM Arroyo’s time in 2004, she issued Executive Order No. 453 that tasked a Consultative Commission to collect proposals that included economic liberalization, further decentralization of national government, more empowerment of local governments.
Thus, Sigaw ng Bayan and ULAP were created to gather signatures for a plebiscite on the proposed constitutional changes. Again, the initiative was opposed by left-wing organizations, politicians, religious groups and businessmen claiming untimeliness of the proposed amendments, alleging further that GMA and allies would directly benefit from the proposed changes.
Under President Noynoy Aquino, several proposals were made by different members of Congress, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., who called for constitutional reforms in addition to economic liberalization.
Most proponents recognize the reality today that opening up the economy to a level playing field can benefit the people, the reason why Congress insists on more foreign investments, and allow Philippine businesses more participation in the world market.
But at present, restrictions in the 1987 Constitution make it hard for the country to be part of an agreement with foreign business. Several ASEAN nations for example, had wealthier economies by opening their borders to all foreigners who wanted to do business in their countries.
The answer to the question above is “now”. There is a need to amend the 1987 Constitution now. We cannot have the 1987 charter forever. Constitutional changes can be made provided the proponents or framers of the law perform their tasks with the welfare of the people in mind, over and above personal benefits.
The charter should be prospective, applicable only to future politicians, to avoid allegations that the law is self-serving. More importantly, sovereign power to make the last decision should be with the people.
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