EDITORIAL - Shameless

The House of Representatives may believe it can dispense with the Senate in the latest effort to amend the Constitution. But national leaders cannot ignore the warnings aired by senators following the announcement of Speaker Prospero Nograles last Thursday that his chamber was just 15 votes shy of approving a resolution paving the way for a revision of the Constitution.

Though the senators’ warning about a “bloody” backlash may be nothing but hyperbole, the years since the 1986 people power revolt have shown that Filipinos tend to be distracted from the demands of daily survival and roused from seeming apathy by two things: the possible return of martial law, and the prospect of extending the terms of incumbent public officials. Though it may be taking increasingly longer for public outrage to boil over, the capability is there, lurking beneath the surface. What shape that outrage can take no one can tell.

Many quarters agree that after 21 years, the Constitution can use amendments. The world is changing at warp speed, and the basic law of the land must allow the country to keep up with those changes and remain competitive. Certain economic provisions in particular can be amended or struck out if the country wants to keep up with the rest of the region in terms of development. The powers of the three branches of government also need clearer definition.

But these best intentions are always overshadowed by the not-so-hidden personal agenda of Charter change proponents — mainly the lifting of term limits or the extension of the terms of incumbent officials led by the president. The opposition to that possibility is stronger especially when the incumbent has already enjoyed a bonus of three years in power and is hounded by questions about the legitimacy of her election victory in 2004.

When the Constitution sets a single six-year term limit for the president, the possibility that someone who would have served nine years by 2010 will still want to hold on to power is unconscionable. This is shameless, immoderate greed, and the senators are right about the potential backlash.