Theoretically, a Constitutional Convention is the ideal body to entrust the revision of the Constitution. It is supposed to be non partisan and in the past, there were a number of really distinguished citizens elected to serve as delegates.

Then again, the theoretical benefits really end up as mere pies in the sky. I covered the last Constitutional Convention in the early ’70s as the regular beat reporter for ABS-CBN News. It was like covering Congress.

There were some non partisan delegates, primarily from what was then the first district of Rizal which covered many cities now under Metro Manila. But on the whole, the rest of the country elected delegates who were relatives or allied to politicians who were part of local political dynasties or were politicians themselves.

If holding a Constitutional Convention will now cost us at least P7 billion, plus the cost of a nationwide election, it is fair to wonder if the money is better used to build decent housing for the homeless or some other project with visible social benefit.

I am sure that most of the delegates elected to serve in this new Con Con will be from political dynasties and assorted vested interests that now populate Congress. A handful of elected delegates with pure hearts will be drowned out for sure.

There is no practical difference in terms of output quality between a Con Ass and a Con Con. What is more important is citizen involvement.

We simply have to keep a sharp watch on deliberations of the Con Ass the way we should keep watch on Congress, but rarely do. Civic groups and media (traditional and social) should keep pressure strong so that members of Congress, acting as ConAss delegates, behave. I know that’s not easy to do, but is doable.

It will also probably be good if we can limit the authority of Con Ass to cover the basic things we want to amend: shift to parliamentary; shift to federal form; removal of or revision of provisions on economic restrictions and nothing more.

Honestly, I am more inclined to just have President Duterte appoint a Constitutional Commission to act on very specific revisions. I have more trust in President Duterte appointing the right people than in an election for a Con Con that will elect the usual suspects we have in Congress.

President Duterte allayed the public’s fear of a self serving Con Ass by saying the Con-Ass “can only come up with a Constitution that is responsive to the will of the people.

 “I will be there. When worse comes to worst, they (lawmakers) know what will happen,” the President said.

In any case, everything will be subject to a referendum. Maybe, each revision ought to be presented on its own so that a rejection of one in the referendum will not affect the others.

I have some thoughts on the proposal to shift to federal and parliamentary. I am shocked at the proposal to have 81 senators in a Federal Senate.

Perhaps, we can do well enough with a unicameral legislature of no more than 300 and have no Senate. The least number of parasites consuming a substantial budget and feeling entitled to pork barrel funds, the better for us.

In any case, we are no longer able to elect a respectable Senate. It has become a popularity contest that rarely takes cognizance of a potential senator’s abilities to legislate wisely.

The Senate is now no more than a breeding ground of ambitious politicians who want to be president. But even there, the Senate is not the best source of future presidents or heads of state. As the last election proved, we can get better materials for the presidency and vice presidency from the ranks of local officials and the House.

I also agree with President Duterte that the party list system should be eliminated. This provision has been abused in practice and negated the idealistic reason for its incorporation in the current constitution.

Vested interests, rather than marginalized sectors, managed to hijack the system. Imagine Mikey Arroyo, son of the former president, winning a seat to represent security guards. There are more horror stories.

But first things first! Rather than have the House super majority rush a Con Ass resolution, the administration must present to the people a list of revisions they have in mind. These must be subjected to extensive debates nationwide. Only then should Congress constitute itself as a Con Ass to act on the proposals.

Indeed, there is a need to convince the public we have to change some provisions in the Constitution. Pulse Asia reports that their survey reveals a plurality of 44 percent do not want Charter change, 37 percent want it and 19 percent don’t have an opinion. Worse, 73 percent said they have little knowledge about the Constitution and 59 percent are not aware of plans to amend the Constitution.

Passing a congressional resolution for a Con Ass is also not a slum dunk. They have to first resolve whether the two chambers will vote on revisions as one chamber or two.

House leaders insist the Con Ass votes as one, which means the 24 senators will be drowned out. I do not expect the senators to agree to commit institutional hara kiri and that means discussions will be prolonged.

Having a Con Ass means our legislators will work double time, something that may be asking too much. House members couldn’t even get a quorum for many of their sessions in the last Congress.

The one big difference between now and the last Con Con in the early ’70s is social media. What we had in the early ’70s was student activism. What will work for us is a more active civil society empowered by social media to influence the course of Con Ass deliberations.

Given the nature of our politics, it is useless to expend too much energy on insisting for a Con Con and then think that will guarantee a good Constitution. In truth, people in general don’t care much about charter change as the surveys show. If we are to have one at all, better to have Con Ass or Con Com, save billions of pesos, and just really put pressure on members of Congress to think of the country for a change.

Some people are worried that the politicians will obliterate the anti political dynasty provision. Con Con or Con Ass that will be obliterated anyway. It got into the current Constitution only because it was drafted by a Con Commission whose members were appointed by Tita Cory.

Con Con or Con Ass or Con Com? It doesn’t matter that much. Same same lang yan.

Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2016/08/03/1609418/con-ass-con-con-same-thing