News Roundup 02 September 2022
Sep 02, 2022 • 4 min Read
Constitution is not revised willy-nilly, says Nat’l Security Adviser Carlos | INQUIRER.NET – The 1987 Constitution cannot be revised willy-nilly or piece by piece, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos said on Friday. Suppose there is a need to change the Constitution. In that case, it should be an omnibus revision, Carlos said during the Senate committee hearing on constitutional amendments and revision of codes on Charter change proposal. “When we are going to revise the Constitution, dapat omnibus ang revision mo kasi bawat section dun na papalitan mo ay meron syang mga pinsan sa other sections. Magmo-move lahat sya e. They will all be moving parts,” she said. “So I’m sorry, I apologize if I go against the notion that you can in fact revise the Constitution piecemeal, you can’t. Otherwise we will be wasting our time, and some other time we will again revise the Constitution and we don’t like to do that.” Carlos stressed that the Constitution is the nation’s supreme law and must not be changed on a whim. “It’s not revised willy-nilly,” she said. “It’s not as if you know ganito ang kapritso natin ngayon, we change it. No, we don’t. We’re changing it because we want structural change. We want structural change because we want behavior change,” she added. Being part of a group doing political education as early as 1989, Carlos underscored the need to have an informed citizenry about proposals to change the Constitution. She said her group was neither advocating a federal nor parliamentary form of government. But during the hearing, Carlos centered her discussions on the possible shift to a parliamentary system from the current presidential form of government. She said there will be “no notion of term limits in a parliamentary system.” “If you’re elected as a member of parliament, you can be elected as long as you’re alive or can continue to discourse in parliament,” she said. “No term limits. Even political dynasties will be irrelevant,” she further said, noting that there are only political dynasties because of term limits. However, Carlos said the prime minister and government may be ousted under a parliamentary form of government based on a single policy decision. “You don’t need people power. You just oust him,” she said, responding to the query of committee chairman Senator Robin Padilla.
Bayan Muna defends Legarda amid red-tagging | INQUIRER.NET – Bayan Muna party-list defended Sen. Loren Legarda on Friday when the senator was red-tagged after she contested Sen. Francis Tolentino’s suggestion that public officials should divulge any family members who may be part of terrorist groups. The progressive party list reiterated the importance of resuming peace talks but was disappointed by the online attacks Legarda faced when she said that having a leftist ideology is not the same as terrorism. Tolentino wants gov’t workers to bare kin who are part of ‘terror groups.’ “Pero nakakaungkot na noong ipinahayag ito ni Sen. Legarda sa plenaryo ng Senado ay siya naman ang inatake ng mga trolls at ni-redtag ng mga anti-democratic and fascists forces,” said Bayan Muna executive vice-president Carlos Isagani Zarate in a statement. (It is saddening that when Sen. Legarda said this during the Senate plenary session, she was attacked by trolls and red-tagged by anti-democratic and fascist forces). INQUIRER.net visited Legarda’s Facebook page and verified that there are comments linking her to communist rebel groups. Her posts that did not pertain to her statements about the left are also flooded with comments that red-tagged her. “Kaya ang ating panawagan ibalik ang peace talks at itigil na ang red tagging,” said Zarate. (That is why we call for the return of the peace talks and the end of red-tagging). Legarda sparked controversy last Tuesday when she said she had worked with the left, explaining the importance of peace talks with rebels. “If we see and study what they actually believe and want, it is social justice. It is really uplifting our people from poverty for decades without bearing arms,” Legarda said on Tuesday.
Gabriela-Caraga exec arrested | PHILSTAR.COM – The secretary general of women’s group Gabriela in Caraga was arrested in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte on Tuesday. Atheliana Hijos, 76, also known as Ka Atel, was apprehended in Barangay Kinabjangan, Caraga police director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said. He said Hijos has pending warrants for murder and kidnapping with serious illegal detention. Human rights group Karapatan denounced the arrest, saying it shows how the judicial system is being weaponized against human rights defenders. “The arrest of Hijos is based on fabricated testimonies of soldiers saying that Atel is a combatant and was involved in armed encounters – a blatant lie considering Atel’s senior age and frail physical condition,” Karapatan said in a statement.
