Robinhood’s Cha-cha: ‘Inshallah’

Call it propitious we had a Muslim convert Senator Robinhood Padilla as featured guest at our Kapihan sa Manila Bay that coincided with the observance of the Ash Wednesday. A religious observance in the Catholic world, the Ash Wednesday kicks off the annual Lenten season every April. But religion was not the topic in our news forum we hold every week at the Café Adriatico in Remedios Circle. Sen. Padilla talked about his advocacy for Charter change (Cha-cha) as the chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revisions of code.

His counterpart at the House committee on constitutional amendments headed by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez approved earlier their Cha-cha version via elected Constitutional Convention. The Lower House has, in fact, started already also on Wednesday the debate on Cha-cha bills in plenary sessions.

Sen. Padilla recited a traditional Islamic prayer greeting as opening spiel in our news forum. Speaking in local Muslim dialect, he greeted “in the name of one God” of all mankind for peace, blessings, and graces. “I also wish our Christian brothers in their celebration of the Ash Wednesday,” Sen.Padilla added.

Padilla dismissed as false claims that Christians and Muslims are “enemies” killing each other over differences in religious beliefs. Quoting from the Quo’ran, he pointed to Islamic biblical accounts about Christians saving the lives of Muslims, and vice versa. “The enemy of all of us is politics and the greed for power. The religion is not the problem because religion is for God,” Sen. Padilla rued.

Padilla embraced the Islamic religion while he was serving a two-year sentence for illegal possession of firearms. The court sentenced him to 21 years in prison. He was freed from the National Bilibid Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City in 1998 after the late President Fidel Ramos granted him a conditional pardon. While in jail, he began to know Islam and later got baptized under the Islamic name Abdul Aziz (which means “Servant of the Almighty”). Robin subsequently returned to his showbiz career while undertaking activities to help Muslim communities affected in the Islamic extremists attacks in Mindanao.

When the popular action star-turned Muslim was merely called then as Robin Padilla, he headed a group advocating for the shift to federal form of government through Cha-cha. In fact, he started his personal crusade for federalism eight years ago when he first guested at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay at the former Luneta Hotel in Kalaw Street where we used to hold it.

When the 57-year-old Padilla ran for public office, he topped the 12-man Senate race in the May national elections last year. He was at the Senate slate of the winning Uni-Team of Sen.Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, as presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. Padilla’s candidacy got further push from the personal endorsement of former President Rodrigo Duterte – who also invokes the name of “Allah” – as then the nominal chieftain of the former ruling administration party of the PDP-Laban. Ex-Pres.Duterte earlier granted absolute amnesty to Padilla in Nov.,2016 to erase the latter’s criminal conviction to qualify for public office.

Sen. Padilla told us he is undaunted as ever to carry out the longstanding initiatives to amend the country’s 1987 Constitution. In particular, Padilla vows to do the Cha-cha to relax the “restrictive” economic provisions being blamed for hindering the flow of foreign investments in the Philippines.

However, PBBM argued against Cha-cha as not his administration’s priority legislative agenda with the present Congress. “I agree with him (PBBM) that he should not interfere with it (Cha-cha). It’s not within his mandate. It is us in Congress (to do Cha-cha) and the people who would ratify it later,” Padilla stressed.

He cited as example the case of ex-President Duterte, who staunchly pushed during the latter’s administration the shift to federalism through Cha-cha. But when Mr. Duterte stepped down after his six years of presidency, Padilla noted, Cha-cha still did not take off.

Thus, Sen.Padilla conceded, he could not include the push to federalism in his own Cha-cha initiative. Padilla strongly urged his fellow lawmakers to support Cha-cha that would be limited only to amending these economic provisions. In particular, Padilla is seeking to relax existing restrictions on foreign ownership of certain economic sectors to a maximum of 40 percent. In his Resolution of Both Houses No. 3, he proposed the Cha-cha mode through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), with members of the Senate and House of Representatives voting separately.

Limited to economic amendments only, Padilla explained, more Filipinos could be wooed and be won over to support the proposed bill amending them with this provision: “Unless otherwise provided for by laws passed and approved by Congress.” He believes such proposed amendment could unleash the potentials of economic growth of the country, create more jobs, to induce greater local production of goods that will lead to lower prices, generate higher taxes, and raise the income of the people.

At the 24-man Upper Chamber, Padilla counts upon at least half of them would be supportive of his Senate committee recommendation on Con-Ass. “Although I need 18 votes, God willing, if it (committee report) will get to the plenary, I will be able to keep the minds of other senators open,” Padilla, speaking in Filipino mused.

Asked how soon could Cha-cha finally take off, Padilla retorted: “Inshallah,” (if Allah wills, or God-willing).

Pressed on his Senate committee’s specific timeline for Cha-cha, Padilla announced they will conduct the public hearings by March 2, starting in the cities of Davao, Baguio, Cebu. He hopes the Joint Resolution can be approved at the second regular sessions of Congress by August.

Padilla targets to synchronize the Cha-cha plebiscite with the barangay and Sangguning Kabataan elections set in October this year. Inshallah.