Proponents of Charter change (or Cha-cha) blame the Constitution for the Philippines’ being a development laggard. They say that it failed to bring about the change expected after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. The Constitution, they also claim, has become an obstacle to the development of our education,…
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Even if President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that Charter change (Cha-cha) is not a priority of his administration, his allies in the House of Representatives continued their deliberation on proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution. Why do they want to amend our Constitution? They want to loosen some restrictions…
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Some political and legal pundits have credited President Rodrigo Duterte for triggering serious discussion on federalism as a form of government which, it is argued, suits the situation and demands of the Philippines’ diverse society. For the PDP-Laban Federalism Institute, “The unprecedented assumption to power of Duterte and his political…
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Even before coming to power, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had been casting federalism as “our last hope” to set right the excesses of a central government controlled by “Imperial Manila,” the inequitable distribution of public resources, the uneven economic development among regions, and the massive poverty that has bred unrest…
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JJCICSI gathered NGOs workers, academics, and community leaders on November 18, 2017 for a forum titled “Do We Need Duterte’s Federalism and RevGov?” at the Walter Hogan Conference Hall, Ateneo de Manila University. The speakers were Atty. Christian S. Monsod, former member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, and Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza,…
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The Urban Poor ‘Kalbaryo’
Watch out! The train is coming!” yelled the crowd of urban poor clustered around the railroad tracks by the España station. It was Holy Week and seven cross-bearers were kneeling on the tracks to protest government policies threatening their already precarious existence. They scrambled to get out of the train’s…