STATEMENT OF CONCERN ON THE ONGOING CAMPAIGN ON CHARTER CHANGE - IFI, Synod of Clergy, Diocese of Surigao
STATEMENT OF CONCERN ON THE ONGOING CAMPAIGN ON CHARTER CHANGE
Synod of Clergy, Diocese of Surigao
Iglesia Filipina Independiente
“You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” [2 Peter 19b]
1. Efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution has been revived again, as it has been pushed by every administration after the presidency of Mrs. Corazon Aquino. The 1987 Philippine Constitution, as the fundamental law of the land and an artefact of the struggle of the Filipino people against the tyrant regime of the deposed President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., deserves the utmost respect, admiration, and adherence of the Filipino people as it enshrines safeguard and defence of human rights, national sovereignty, democratic and nationalist principles, and good governance, among others. But just recently however deceptive manoeuvres are creeping nationwide to commence the process of amending the nation’s charter behind the guise of “economic development,” coming in surprise fashion like a thief in the night.
2. We are alarmed concerning this nationwide and massive campaign on charter change through the mode of People’s Initiative, but is a Congress’ Initiative in reality, given the fact that it originated from the House of Representatives, mobilizing local executives and barangay officials and workers, and undoubtedly funded by Congress money as constituents were reportedly given P100 each and promised further “ayuda” in exchange for their individual signatures.
3. The signature campaign is more worrisome because no amount of explanation is given about the proposed amendment. Constituents are deliberately left in the dark about the proposal. This unscrupulous means clearly discloses the malevolent intentions of the brain behind this dreadful deception. As full-blown amendments of the 1987 Constitution are being prepared and kept secret, this particular move of People’s Initiative charter change actually intends to unlock the safeguard and basic defences of the 1987 Constitution from reckless assaults of anti-Filipino, anti-poor, and anti-democracy and anti-nationalist policies. It proposes particularly Article XVII, Section 1(1) to be amended that the House of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall now be voting jointly on any amendment to, or revision of, the 1987 Constitution. Further, any Constitutional Convention or Assembly can now be called or convened by either the Senate President or the Speaker of the House without the required consent or agreement with the other.
4. The proposed amendment intends to remove and abolish the check and balance mechanism intrinsic to, long held sacred by, and required in, the Congress of the Philippines. It diminishes the voice and votes of the 24 Senators as against the 315 Representatives. Ordinarily, on any proposed law, the two Houses of the Senate and of the Representatives are voting separately to ensure that the law being passed truly serves the people’s well-being and the nation’s independence and sovereignty. Once this petition is approved and amends the Article XVII, Section 1(1), the Congress, with the superiority of number of the members of the House of Representatives, can now freely pass, without check and balance, any amendment of the Constitution which will only serve the interest of the sitting politicians, appease their principals, shrink further the remaining democratic and nationalist provisions protected by the Constitution, and sell-out the national patrimony to foreign dominance, exploitation and plunder. The floodgates for the prostituted Constitution of the Republic are now wide-opened to accommodate the constitutional avalanche of abuse detrimental to our well-being as a free, sovereign and democratic nation.
5. Having been reminded of our call to be like lamps shining in dark places, we strongly condemn this evil machination that will perpetuate every Filipino in the dark era of underdevelopment and traditional politics. It is not true that unlocking our country’s resources to foreign domination will translate to economic prosperity in our land. Instead we believe that through addressing the root causes of country’s problems like declining from foreign control of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, pursuing genuine land reform and national industrialization, repealing laws on the privatization of our public services and the regularization and liberalization of our economy and market, curtailing gross greed of our traditional political leaders and their dynasties, and pursuing negotiated, just and lasting peace to resolve the armed conflict, will bring the country to the dawn of bright forthcoming.
6. To us, as being immersed in the life-situation of our people as their pastors, teachers and partners, it is obviously evident that this new effort to change the charter will only serve the interest of the politicians in administration, the multi-national corporations enjoying the “public-private partnership” system and the wealthy countries controlling the region, putting our country’s resources to exploitation and plunder.
7. In view thereof, we call on our church members to be vigilant, take prudence and have courage to frustrate this malicious effort to change the 1987 Philippine Constitution by shedding light to our brothers and sisters in faith and in our wider communities through and by disclosing the hidden agenda of this farce People’s Initiative. We shall make use of the social media and networks of discernment to inform and empower our families, friends, communities, and those who are close to us to upset and turn down this work of evil.
8. We also call our church leaders to take initiatives in informing, educating and enabling our church members to wisely, responsibly and prayerfully decide on their own and not be toasted to deception and exploitation, corrupted by money or lured by any material promise. We ask our church leaders and sectoral officers to make every church activity an avenue for organizing, education and consolidation of our church members and to shun away domestication, obscurantism, and aggrandizement for the genuine empowerment of our people instead.
9. We collectively join with the voice of the Filipino people to declare “Junk the People’s Initiative!” “No to Charter Change!”
Adopted by the Synod of Clergy, IFI Diocese of Surigao, at the last session of the January 15-17, 2024 Meeting held at IFI Placer Parish Church, Placer, Surigao del Norte, Philippines.
Certified true and correct:
[Sgd] The Revd Clyde U. Catuburan
Secretary to the Synod of Clergy
IFI Diocese of Surigao
Presiding the Meeting:
[Sgd] The Most Revd Rhee M. Timbang
Bishop
IFI Diocese of Surigao
Photo and Statement Source: IFI Diocese of Surigao, Synod of Clergy Statement on ChaCha
Comments
Post a Comment