Congress dared: You want change? Pass anti-dynasty law

MANILA – In order to solve the "ordinary problems of everyday people," the country has to get rid of political dynasties, especially considering moves to amend the 1987 Constitution through a Constituent assembly (Con-ass), said a legal expert.

"Don't blame the structure of government for [problems in our society]. All the studies show that our…failure of development are due to flawed policies and weak institutions…[due to] corruption and political dynasties," Christian Monsod, a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, said.

Monsod was speaking on the administration’s desire to convene a Con-ass in order to amend the Philippine Constitution, which was ratified in 1987 after the collapse of the Marcos dictatorship and the restoration of democracy.

The Duterte administration wants to change the system of government from its current unitary structure with three branches at the head, to federal, with power being distributed between a central body and local units.

A Con-ass would be composed of members of Congress, several of whom are related to each other, and so Monsod expressed suspicion that amendments through Con-ass would put at risk the provisions in the Constitution on social justice and human development.

Bodies that would be in charge of amending the Constitution are prone to weakness, Monsod emphasized, particularly due to political dynasties who want to further their own agendas, which would not be benefited by a Constitution that strongly favors social justice.

"Who will benefit from that revision and who will be hurt? They like federalism because they have more power. What makes us think that if we change the constitution, if we give more powers to the political dynasties, that they would change their behavior? That doesn't make sense," he said.

People empowerment, said Monsod, is being hijacked by political dynasties in their own self-interest. They won’t change, he said.

Monsod also nixed a Constitutional convention, because it will be a "mirror of the present Congress, because of the present [political] families."

"Sa akin, to show that there is sincerity, why doesn't Congress today pass an anti-dynasty law?" he said.

CHANGE IS ALREADY POSSIBLE

Monsod emphasized that contrary to the administration's belief that the only way to solve the country’s problems is through Charter change, there are other ways to do it "that will not sacrifice or put at risk the social justice provisions of the Constitution."

All the government needs, he said, is to improve the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) through changes in laws governing revenue such as those from mining companies, so that local governments will have more resources.

"Ang problemang sinasabi nila sa [Imperial Manila], the resources are concentrated in the central government. We can always change that. We don't need to change the Constitution to change the IRA," he said, suggesting that local governments can earn additional funds from their territories' natural resources by implementing beneficial laws and implementing regulations.

The local government code, he said, is already "very progressive." The local government has the power to tax, borrow money from abroad, and even receive grants, if they need additional resources to improve residents’ condition, all without the national government’s influence or interference.

The problem, he said, is that local governments are not credit worthy. "May governance problems sila," he said.

"Ano ba ang changes na gusto nating gawin? Peace, development? Kailangan ba ang change in Constitution, or change in implementation of ordinary laws? Marami nang devolved functions sa local government. Ang problema lang, they are not exercising these."