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Philippines Charter Change: Duterte's Push

This document discusses proposals in the Philippines to amend the 1987 constitution through "cha-cha" or charter change. It notes that President Duterte has been the most vocal supporter of cha-cha, making five unsuccessful attempts already. One proposal is to adopt a federal form of government. Another is to extend term limits for elected officials, which some fear could undermine accountability. Overall the document examines debates around amending the Philippine constitution.

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kristineclaire mapalo
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77 views1 page

Philippines Charter Change: Duterte's Push

This document discusses proposals in the Philippines to amend the 1987 constitution through "cha-cha" or charter change. It notes that President Duterte has been the most vocal supporter of cha-cha, making five unsuccessful attempts already. One proposal is to adopt a federal form of government. Another is to extend term limits for elected officials, which some fear could undermine accountability. Overall the document examines debates around amending the Philippine constitution.

Uploaded by

kristineclaire mapalo
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Cha-Cha: More than just a Step Back and Forth

Kristine Claire Mapalo

The Philippine House of Representatives opened the second regular session of


congress last month, with some legislators looking to kick-start the controversial
process of amending the constitution. Charter change – or “cha-cha”, as locals put it –
has been part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s thrust since he came into power. The
current constitution, ratified in 1987, was produced after the tumultuous and draconian
Marcos dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. Its provisions specifically created the
single six-year presidential term, along with other safeguards to unchallenged
leadership. It is a key document to mark the country’s shift away from open autocracy.
So any attempt to revise it can be easily portrayed as a political power grab.

Under the new dispensation or government of President Duterte, there is a


proposal to adopt a federal government. There are also calls to change or amend the
Constitution. Aside from the form of government, what other provisions should be
changed or added to have a government that is more responsive, more trustworthy, and
less susceptible to corruption? Duterte seems more intent than his predecessors in
pursuit of charter change. While all four presidents before him have, in one way or
another, proposed cha-cha, Duterte has been its most vocal and frequent endorser. He
and his political allies have made five attempts already – all met with public backlash
and eventually retracted.

Finances are crucial in implementing government programs, and corruption


usually occurs in doing so. Corruption is mostly about finance,and bribery happens
during its transaction. Business tycoons bribes the auditing personnel to alter monetary
records and speed up the transactionprocess, and the auditing personnel accept these
due to their low [Link], improving the financial management sector will curb
[Link] government should increase the wages of the said sector, to
avoidmanipulation of fiscal [Link] proposal is to extend terms for elected officials,
prompting fears around accountability and process. Yet are such concerns warranted?
This month, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) unveiled
a petition by more than 1400 mayors clamouring to lift the term limits for city leaders.
While this does not apply to their national counterparts, it signals an open call for
splicing the charter. The DILG, however, has tried to allay such fears by denying that
the term-extension proposal would extend to the president. However, Congressman
Rufus Rodriguez also said this month he plans to call for a meeting of the constitutional
amendments committee of the House to discuss how best to proceed.

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