13 February 2008

MIRIAM: CHACHA BID “RADIOACTIVE”

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said that she is “deeply skeptical” about the proposed charter change for shifting to a federal system, describing it as “a radioactive minefield.”

Santiago said that since there is no genuine public clamor, but only a clamor from certain local government officials, the Supreme Court will “most likely” declare the new chacha initiative unconstitutional.

Santiago cited the 1997 case of Defensor Santiago v. Comelec, and the 2006 case of Raul Lambino vs. Comelec, where the Supreme Court struck down administration efforts to change the charter.

“The chacha political landscape is dotted with landmines set to explode. In other words, it raises crucial political issues which are likely to explode in the face of those who advocate it,” she said.

The senator added: “The DILG under Sec. Puno should stop writing screen plays for their chacha spectacular, which have long been unmasked as sycophantic efforts to earn brownie points with the President.”

Santiago listed the objectionable features of the proposal, as follows:

It will “most probably” include a provision for holdover of elected officials beyond their fixed terms of office.

“That would immediately and automatically prove lethal to chacha. The voters have developed chacha fatigue, in addition to scandal fatigue, and people power fatigue,” she said.

If the intent is to solve the Muslim problem in Mindanao, it is redundant, because Muslim leaders have already rejected federalism as a response to their demands.

It is artificial to the Philippines, because federalism in other countries is driven by diversity in governments and cultures, particularly ethnic majorities which does not apply in the same degree to the Philippines.

“The Philippines is a tiny archipelago that has always been homogeneous, except for certain Muslim provinces. Federalism works only for regions or states that are heterogeneous,” she said.

Federalism is anachronistic. It has succeeded only in some 20 states of the world, and it failed in some cases like East Africa, the Caribbean, and the USSR.

The proponents do not specify what form of government, whether presidential or parliamentary, shall be observed under the proposed federal system.

The danger of secession is greater, because each province or regional grouping is considered co-equal to every other, and enjoys greater autonomy from the national government, which retains power only over foreign affairs, defense, and immigration.

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