LEGAZPI CITY—Human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares delves into the implications of the ongoing Charter Change (Cha-Cha) discourse, shedding light on its media effects during an interactive discussion headed by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Albay in Legazpi City on Friday, February 2.
The preceding issues of the charter change or the amendments to the 1987 Constitution have ignited again, which has been a long-running discussion even during the Duterte administration.
In recent weeks, cha-cha via people’s initiative has become a common issue due to the rumored signing campaign, which enables the Filipino people to participate in the signature campaign with its seemingly beneficial but lacking presentation.
In a statement, Colmenares claimed that there would be many people who would criticize the Senate if they were going to push cha-cha through RBH 6. He then challenged the promised uplift from Cha-Cha, questioning the logic of having foreign ownership of the local media outfits.
“That’s the promise of the cha-cha, right? To lift us from poverty and for the betterment of the economy. What do they do? Sell the media to Taiwan? What’s the connection, right? Maybe they just have business interests there,” Colmenares expressed.
Furthermore, Colmenares emphasized the significance of explaining Cha-Cha, especially to the locals, who might not be aware of the implications of the signatures they are being asked to provide. He also encouraged campus journalists who attended the round table discussion to act as conduits for understanding among students, their families, and communities.
“The issue of Cha-Cha is not really easy; it is very complicated in a sense that it has a lot of processes in explaining it (to the public), and so it is the job of the journalists to explain these to them, not just to the students of the campus but also to the people in the community,” Colmenares said.
During the forum, 61-year-old Diosdado Lacuenca, a farmer from Pio Duran, Albay, voiced his concern about the signatures collected under the guise of aid assistance.
“Ang pagkakaalam namin, ang sabi nila, “pumirma na kayo para sa ayuda”. Eh sino naman hindi pipirma doon dahil diba kailangan natin kahit kaunting tulong na nagmumula sa gobyerno. Interesado din kami kaya nagkataon na pumirma kami. Kalaunan, medyo syempre, usap-usapan sa bawat brgy hanggang nakarating sa bayan na yung pinirmahan pala namin ay illegal ‘yon” Lacuenca narrates.
(“As for our knowledge, the purpose of our signatures is for aid assistance; who would have refused to sign given the fact that we also need help coming from the government? We are interested, so we unfortunately signed. Eventually, it has been the talk of the barangay until it has been sent to the town that the thing that we signed up for is illegal,” Lacuenca narrates.)
Colmenares addressed the issue, explaining the process of signature withdrawal through a “Bawi Pirma Affidavit” for those who feel misled about the purpose of signing.
DU30’s inconsistent claims
Colmenares also pointed out former President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent change of stance on Cha-Cha, highlighting the inconsistency between his current opposition to the Marcos administration and his previous support for constitutional amendments during his term.
“For me, the instant shift on the stand of the Dutertes’ opposing Marcos based on Cha-Cha is quite confusing because why would the Dutertes dislike cha-cha when Duterte pushed for cha-cha during his term, right?” Colmenares expressed.
“It is so unpopular; I think he only used that as an excuse because of the vulnerability of the Marcos administration in the Cha-Cha issue,” he added.
Colmenares believes that the real issue in the Marcos-Duterte split is the looming threat of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Cha-cha was just the official reason, but the main reason is nagduda talaga ang Duterte na dumating dito ang ICC at pinayagan talaga ng mga Marcos. So because of that nagbreak na. It’s not about Cha-cha, yung break na ‘to, it’s about the ICC,” Colmenares explained
“For all the blaster of President Duterte, he is scared of the ICC despite his statements na “I’m ready to go to the prison,” “I’m ready to die” etc. He’s afraid, and they worry that if they’re going to be crippled, one of the ways to cripple them before 2028 is to have him arrested”, Colmenares ends. I Lyzha Mae Agnote