Arroyo favors quick shift to parliamentary system

President Arroyo said yesterday she favors amending the Constitution as quickly as possible so the country can shift to a parliamentary and federal form of government.

Mrs. Arroyo said the country needs to catch up with its East Asian neighbors which have parliamentary systems and can enact laws and implement reforms at a quicker pace than the Philippines.

"Our system really has a lot of gridlock," she told radio station dzRH.

The less-centralized, federal governments in Indonesia and Malaysia, she said, make it easier for the archipelagic nations to govern their far-flung areas. The Philippines is the second largest archipelago in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.

"Manila is too far to make decisions... If we shift to a federal (system), decisions for Mindanao can be made in Mindanao," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said if Congress passes a law calling for the amendment of the 1987 Constitution, she would consider including the selection of delegates to a constitutional convention in national elections in May.

The President is seeking a full six-year term in the May 10 polls.

"The earlier we can come up with the basis for change, the better, because in the history of our country we have been left behind by our neighbors," she said.

Proponents of a shift to a federal system say the present system concentrates decision-making and resources in Manila, leaving remote provinces and regions lagging far behind in economic development.

They also say the present presidential form of government causes gridlock in policy-making because of conflicts between the executive branch and the bicameral legislature.

In the same radio interview, Mrs. Arroyo noted with interest the reported success of Speaker Jose de Venecia in convincing congressional leaders to support his proposed joint resolution calling for the election of Con-con delegates in May.

Several lawmakers have been calling for constitutional change, but the Senate and the House are divided over how it should be done. Mrs. Arroyo has said in the past she favors moves to amend the Constitution, and believes that a constitutional convention – with elected delegates – is the least divisive way to bring about change.

However, in his press briefing at the Palace yesterday, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye doused any possibility that election of Con-con delegates will be held in the coming polls.

"What the President said so far is she is in favor of fundamental change in the way we do things and that includes altering the system of governance. But as to specifics, we have issued an earlier statement that this (Cha-cha) would be tackled after the May 2004 elections," Bunye cited.

Mrs. Arroyo also dismissed anew talks that she will serve only as a "transition President" once the amendments to the Constitution, specifically the shift to parliamentary system, are ratified in a plebiscite.

"Let me just clarify that in my short period of being president, I was able to solve some of the troubles I have inherited from the past and stabilized the prices of food and basic goods for the poor. But these are just down payments because I’m not yet contented with that," Mrs. Arroyo explained.

"So, if given the opportunity to continue with these down payments, we will have the next installments in the next six years. That we shall do," the President vowed.

Many Filipinos are suspicious of any plans to amend the Constitution, recalling how the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos manipulated changes in the 1935 Charter in the 1970s to allow him to rule by decree.

In 1997, massive protests were held against proposals to amend the Charter to allow then President Fidel Ramos to run for another six-year term.

Protests again greeted a similar move by Ramos’ successor, Joseph Estrada, to amend the Constitution to allow more foreign investments.

Bunye dismissed accusations by the political opposition that the Palace has hidden motives in pushing for Con-con and viewed it as an apparent attempt to give justifications to postpone the elections.

"There will be elections on May 10, 2004. There are no ifs or buts," Bunye assured the public. — Marichu Villanueva, Paolo Romero