Charter change railroad

RAILROADING a resolution on a topic as complex and controversial as Charter change is a piece of cake if Congress puts its mind to it. Just ask Cagayan de Oro Representative Constantino Jaraula.

In having the House committee on Constitutional Amendments, which he chairs approve a resolution convening Congress into a constituent assembly, thus forcing a showdown with a difficult Senate.

The Cagayan de Oro lawmaker was determined to fend off any complaints or opposition to the resolution's approval, even ignoring a pointed challenge by Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez about whether he was ashamed that he and the committee railroaded the constituent assembly resolution.

In fact the congressman simply referred the opposing lawmakers to submit their complaints to the committee secretariat for action even as he remained vague on whether they had the "magic number" of 195 lawmakers needed to convene the House to a constituent assembly.

This raises the question of whether the constituent assembly is possible and will ensue without the Senate's concurrence. Senators such as Aquilino Pimentel Jr. were scornful of the move, even going so far as to brand it an act of desperation on the part of Congress.

That assertion does have bearing owing to a decision by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) rejecting the "Sigaw ng Bayan" petition for a People's Initiative because of the absence of an enabling law as cited by the Supreme Court.

Interestingly this development came even as anti-Charter change proponents gear up their plans to counter the administration backed Cha-cha campaign with their own information offensive. One Voice convener Christian Monsod is set to arrive in Cagayan de Oro today for this purpose.

Anyway the Charter change proponents showed that they are more than willing to exercise option number two even without the Supreme Court ruling on the Sigaw ng Bayan petition.

A sign of desperation or calculation one cannot tell but it is a clear reflection of how desperate in particular the Palace is really determined to keep its hold on power.

It all the more emphasizes just how crucial the Supreme Court decision on the Sigaw ng Bayan petition is since in its ruling hangs the balance between railroading a Charter change campaign that people know little about and stopping an insidious attempt at entrenching the hold of powerful politicos into office.