Overall, huge reasons to be worried and disappointed about, with little positive to hold on to.
ChaCha need not be divisive. There will be differences in the position on the specific changes to be introduced. But the process, if we stay true to it and focus on the common good concerns, will make us think of the same thing: what is good for the country, what system and institutions would best serve the Filipinos?
There are 4 gaps that leave critical questions hanging and issues unresolved on the DAP controversy. This is how the decision could be wanting for non-lawyers
We should change our Constitution to correct the flaws and weaknesses in our political system
It is time for the relevant accountability institutions, namely the Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of Justice, the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan and the courts, to step up and prove worthy of the powers vested upon them. These institutions are the ones with the strongest mandate to get to the bottom of the Napoles and the Malampaya scams and start the process of investigating other abuses of pork allocations.Collapse of Checks-and-Balance
In the meantime, there is a need to abolish the pork system--the real pork system.
Our anti-pork calls go beyond just the scraping of that item in the budget called Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). It is about bringing back the integrity of our political system. It is about nurturing a culture of transparency and accountability. It is about making public office a public trust once more. It is about ending patronage politics, which perpetuates disempowerment and dependency of the masses and the rule of the few.
Our premise why dynasties are problematic in democracy is it undermines accountability since decisions that affect the public are made in private sphere (the family). Hence, our working definition of political dynasty is it exists when members of a (nuclear) family occupies seats that have direct mandate to check and balance each other and have legal authority over other means of accountability. It is a state of political monopoly that cancels out checks and balance mechanisms.
Twenty-five years after its ratification, the 1987 Constitution has survived serious attempts to change it during the presidencies of Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. What were the reasons for the attempts and why did they fail? For persons and organizations with valid reasons to explore Charter Change, what are the available options? What is a systematic way to explore and pursue it? These are some of the questions this book examines and answers.
This paper offers more assurance of legislative oversight in a soft state with a tendency towards heavy-handed presidency.
This paper explores the pros and cons of a people’s initiative, by revisiting the attempts of PIRMA and Sigaw ng Bayan, and examining the barriers to making it operational and applicable.
This paper explains the significance of digital convergence to poor countries. It offers a measure to address the insufficiency of the institutional environment to keep up with the convergence process, to clarify policy ambiguities pertaining to the rules of competition and interconnection.
This provides full transcription of the high-profile seminar on charter change in 2008.
This paper reviews the recourse to emergency powers by four presidencies and examining the intended and unintended consequences.
This paper is espousing that liberalization of professional and educational services will enhance economic competitiveness of the country in medium to long terms.
This paper argues that Islamic tradition can permit a Bangsamoro Federal Islamic State within a secular democratic system.