What struck me in the Pulse Asia’s latest survey on Charter Change was how uninformed we are about our Constitution, which we all approved in 1987.
The nationwide survey with 1,800 registered voters 18 years old and above as respondents was conducted June 15 to 21, two weeks before the consultative committee formed by President Duterte to draft a federal Constitution submitted its finished product to Malacañang.
Pulse Asia found out that about three-quarters of Filipinos (74%) have little/almost no/no knowledge at all about the 1987 Philippine Constitution.). Of the total figure (74%), 43% have little knowledge while 31% know practically/completely nothing about the document that spells out the basic laws that govern us.
Pulse Asia asked the largely uninformed respondents whether it is appropriate to amend the existing Constitution at this time. The result: Around two in three Filipinos (67%) are against changing the country’s charter now while only 18 percent approve.
That’s why the Senate hearing on Charter Change is very useful. The critique of Gene Lacza Pilapil, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, one of the resource persons should warn us about the draft Federal Constitution produced by the Duterte-created Consultative Committee.
Pilapil observed that “The Con-com constitution’s explicit provisions on federalism, political dynasties, political parties, judiciary, federal constitutional commissions, etc. – and the-all important implicit assumptions that underlie them – seem to ignore, undermine, contradict, or a simply blissfully unaware of many basic principles and serious concerns of institutional design and re-design, especially if you tinkering with an already functioning democratic constitution.”
He listed seven critical insights contravened throughout by the draft Federal Constitution:
a.The folly of “hyperrationality” (the mistaken belief that just because the formal rules are changed, the old behaviour of politicians will also change);
b.The importance of sequencing of reforms based on the “un-simultaneous time horizons” of different reforms for them to work (as against “big bang,” “grand bargain,” long list of reforms introduced at one go);
c.The danger of “overreforming” (because reforms introduce new problems and at times can be worse than the problem initially being addressed; related terms are “reforms should correct flaws as specifically as possible,” “and better the devil you know than the devil you do not know”);
d.Underestimating “the law of unintended consequences” (where new institutions do not function the way designers originally intended; in fact, they function opposite of the framers’ intention; plain English translation is the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions);
e.The crucial role of “path dependency” basically, who are first empowered by the introduction of the new constitution that would determine the manner how the reforms are shaped; hence the overwhelming importance of the transitory provisions of the new constitution);
f.The important distinctions among “macro-level” (e.g.system of government), “meso-lelvel” (e.g. electoral system), and “micro-level” (e.g., legislative sub-rules) institutional reforms and their implication for constitutional engineering;
g.The danger of “excessive optimism” in reforms (because it can easily lead to “excessive disillusionment” afterwards as what would most likely happen when reforms with exaggerated promises).
Pilapil expressed concern about the ConCom’s all-powerful Federal Transition Commission to be headed by the incumbent president.
“Take note that we have not even started the new constitution and yet what we are already seeing are immediately both institutional and democratic erosions as the one-man wrecking crew that had already eroded democratic institutions under the 1987 Constitution is already giving a sneak preview of what he will do under the new federal constitution that, notwithstanding all recent pronouncements to the contrary, he will most likely still lead as incumbent president, transition president, or re-elected president if he could get away with it.”
Be warned.
alvarez wants no election next year, 2019. gusto kaayo na federalism push through sooner and not later. fear siguro na baka sa election 2019 ay maraming kompanyero niyang hindi mahalal at ang power base niya ay liliit, mababawasan at nawawalan siya ng influence.
tama po si gene pilapil, myself dont trust this federalism na pilit iimpose ng mga chinese backed impostors.
if federalism is indeed so good, why must it be imposed now? wouldn’t it still be good next year, year after next and the coming more years?
impose federalism now because duterte is not getting any younger? and national problems like rising crime, massive unemployment, corruption of govt officials in high places and the worsening economy are burgeoning exponentially that rather than solving them, shifting to federalism where problems will just be carried over is . . I dont know, a hazy smoke screening? gathering of dark clouds where there is no silver lining? a man made famine from heaven instead of the sought after manna?
be warned. I am warned. I dont trust federalism not only because I dont understand it, but because I have no trust in the people vehemently pushing for federalism. to me, they appear duplicitous and seem to be looking only after themselves, for the good of themselves, not for the good of all.
Email from Nelson Paredes:
I just want to give my thought of suppose constitutional expert warning you have recently written at ABS-cbn news – which include Davide, Monsod, CBCP and UP/Ateneo elites and other lawyers who opposed the current government which they dislike.
These supposed experts had been given the privileged to work with the government from Cory, Ramos, GMA and Noynoy. but did they improved our life. – we all know that nothing has been change to improve to our country as they concentrate to enrich themselves..
I know from your hearts that this people uses the bias media when most of us has no access during the time of Cory & Ramos time.
With the changes and improvement of access to information (Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, instagram and other social media platform, the ordinary people can’t be fooled by this elites and hypocrites – Hindi na tanga ang mga karamihang Pilipino at nagising na sa lahat ng kani lang kamalian, lalo na kami na nasa ibang bansa. You should come here and ask the opinion of OFW and other nationalities how they appreciate D30’s administration which is not being shared by your company you work for.
Kahit sino and namumuno na Presedinti kung hindi talaga sa ikabubuti sa ating mahal na bansa – walang mangyayari.
Thank you,
Nelson Paredes
OFW – Concerned Pilipino Citizen
I think, many would like to go overseas just to ask the opinions of ofws and other nationalities as stated by nelson paredes if nelson will kindly pay for air their fares, lodging and accommodations, passports, etc. I am presuming many will take up the challenge, lol!
and by other nationalities, does nelson paredes mean the chinese and the russians? they sure are very supportive of digong, lol!
kung ako lang po, I prefer to ask the opinions of the locals, they’re the ones most impacted by what is going on, rather than ask the opinions of foreigners like the chinese who steal our fishes and the russians who want to sell arms.
Email from Ariel Alano:
Thank you for your article. I agree that Pinoys need to know more about the constitution, both old and proposed. Choosing the constitution is a very basic national act and should be done properly. People should know, not choose based on what other people say. We are already in the information age, and people should know what is going on.
I am interested in knowing more about Gene Pilapil’s assessment of the draft constitution. I was just hoping that you could find a way to translate his/her observations into a language that the masses will understand. It’s written in jargonese English.
An ordinary person like me would not know how to have access to the draft constitution. I think we deserve to have a copy of the draft as it progresses. We should also have to have a venue for expressing our opinions on the drafting. In our digital age, I don’t think it will cost much to upload a copy of the draft for us to see. Unlike in the past, we don’t have to physically print, so there is little excuse why we should not see something that will affect our lives as captive citizens of the country.
I am not saying that the new constitution being proposed should be favored over the older one. iI am just saying that we should all be able to intelligently compare the old and the new. Your paper will do us a very big favor if you can publish a table containing your expert evaluation of the choices, their advantages and disadvantages. This way, we can truly make an intelligent decision.
I remember Rizal talking about the need for educating the people. This is it.
Yours sincerely,
Ariel Alano
Hi Ariel, please go to verafiles.org.
We have unbundled most of the provisions of the Constitution to make it more understandable to the public. In fact, the Consultative Commission is using our infographics in their info drive about the draft Constitution.
Anyway, here’s the copy of the draft Federal Constitution. But please go to our website: verafiles.org
salamat po, nabasa ko po as directed ang verafiles.org. and no wonder po the consultative committee uses verafiles’ infographics maybe for its simplicity and convenience. saves the consultative com the trouble of going through the hard work; in short, parang si digong po and comiting ito, mahilig din sa short cut, as we all. packed for your convenience to be read at your pleasure, and maybe, repent later?
my feeling is the informatics presented a big ‘but’, the elephant in the room no one talks about. people like me felt the elephant and bothered by it presence.
para bang, I am being asked to judge the entirety of a book by its cover, knowing full well the cover may have little to do with the contents inside.
but thanks for the efforts and thanks for trying.