(ZENIT News / Manila, 05.02.2024).- The Catholic Church is calling for reflection, in face of the Filipino Government’s proposal to change the country’s Constitution, approved in 1987, in order to discern better the proposals for revision and to avoid a tendency to authoritarianism.
The popular initiative to modify the Constitution of the Nation, a country of a large Catholic majority, proposes the amendments directly by the intervention of the people, “through at least 12% of the total number of registered voters,” and that each legislative district have “at least 3% of the registered voters as signatories.
Aaron Pedrosa, leader of Sanlakas, a multi-sectorial organization, said on January 18: “I’m not in favour of the change of status, either by popular initiative or by the Constitutional Assembly. A change of status is not the answer to inflation, to unemployment, to the housing crisis and to corruption in the country.” He also highlighted that the changes proposed only benefit politicians to extend their mandate.
In regard to economic aspects, the Senate and the House of Representatives have been asked to modify Article 12 of the Constitution, which establishes that public services must be the exclusive property of the Filipinos. The change is proposed to attract foreign investment. Opposed voices warn that it will increase the exploitation of natural resources and of indigenous lands.
Lawmakers have sought signatures so that the popular initiative will facilitate the change by a joint voting agreement, which will favour the Lower Chamber against the Senate’s 24 members.
Bishop José Colin Mendoza Bagaforo of Kidapawan, President of the papal charitable organization Caritas-Philippines, commented that “any attempt to alter the Constitution, especially when it is enveloped in secrecy and lacks genuine popular participation, poses serious concerns about the real motives.” On that same day, January 11, 2024 the Prelate said that “instead of wasting time and resources in amending the Constitution, the Government should prioritize measures to eradicate corruption.”
According to the Bishop of Bagaforo, the proposed modification “isn’t a silver bullet for the economic problems, in particular the generalized problem of corruption (. . . ). The Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Philippines has said that the Constitution must be revised only to promote the moral values of human dignity and human rights.”
The National Council of Churches of the Philippines, which brings together the non-Roman Catholic Denominations, stressed that “the present Constitution is able to protect our natural patrimony and our economy against foreign plunder and domination. To play with the Magna Carta can open doors to change the mandate limits of Government officials.”
The Philippines’ current Constitution was promulgated a year after Ferdinand E. Marcos, father of the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was deposed from the position of President. Marcos (father) wrote the Constitution in 1973 and held power for 21 years with adjustments, until the Popular Power Revolution led him to exile in 1986.
Bishop Bagaforo pointed out : “Let us focus on building a just and equitable society, not on rewriting the Constitution to get personal benefits.”
