Issue of leadership in Charter change

CHARTER Change, as proposed by the Arroyo administration's allies, is not just about the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government. It is also about allowing congressmen to hold on to power, as they will automatically become members of Parliament (MPs), should Cha-cha push through. Once they're in Parliament, they can easily change the rules and do away with elections for as long as the Parliament is not dissolved. To believe that the congressmen-turned MPs will dissolve what keeps them in power is wishful thinking.

One of the sad lessons to remember from martial law is this: When government officials stay in power indefinitely and they introduce wrong economic policies, the errors are likely to be perpetuated. And even if discovered many years later, it is difficult to correct them.

Martial law was characterized, among others, by crony capitalism which discouraged legitimate local and foreign investors. The cronies, instead of going into new business ventures that could have expanded the economy and propelled it to growth, merely gobbled up existing attractive businesses. It was for this reason that the economy stagnated. And the economic gains we made under the presidential system--our economy became the second most prosperous country, after Japan, in Asia--were wasted.

Today, Cha-cha proponents want the nation to return practically to the same martial law government setup, where government officials wielded too much power and for unlimited terms. That setup may be different in form but not in substance: during martial law, there was one-man dictatorship; under a parliamentary system, there will be a collective "dictatorship" as we can now see and deduce from the actuations of those in power.

Consider the following: The congressmen do not care about what is right; they just go by their superior numbers. Proof of this? They would have none of the arguments for the impeachment of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, they would have none of the arguments against the constituent assembly. And they didn't care to help resolve the Garci tapes controversy; the questions in and about the Mayuga report; the election fraud charges; the P728 fertilizer scam. They are not even ashamed of their pork barrel, which people widely perceive as their kitty for corruption. Now, if the Cha-cha believers trust this kind of government officials who understand only the language of "number" (it sounds like "majority" and "pork barrel") but not reason--which reveals their tyrannical mind-sets; if Cha-cha advocates, including media commentators and columnists, want to be governed by the very same officials, that's their choice.

But many Filipinos know better.--MARCELO L. TECSON, via e-mail

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