Common cause

Thanks to the stealthy way proponents are stampeding the nation into Charter change, diverse groups are finding common cause to oppose the Marcos 2.0 administration.

Among the most formidable opponents are all 24 members of the Senate, whose chamber faces the threat of being marginalized or even eliminated through Cha-cha.

Then there’s former president Rodrigo Duterte, still as astonishingly popular among Filipinos as Donald Trump is to the Americans. Equally popular, despite a significant drop in her latest survey ratings, is Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara, plus their entire clan and their solid support base in Mindanao as well as large swaths of the Visayas.

Progressive groups are also against Cha-cha, whether economic or political, seeing the further opening up of the economy to foreigners as a threat to domestic producers. These groups are leading mass protests commemorating the 38th anniversary of the people power revolt that toppled Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship in 1986, even if his son and namesake did not declare Feb. 25 a holiday.

It’s too bad because easing economic restrictions in the Charter could help entice foreign investors, although this is no silver bullet for all the ills that plague the business environment in the Philippines.

Some quarters in the national security sector are also said to be worried about opening up ownership of schools, mass media and advertising to foreigners, with their concern focused on China and its massive funds for investing overseas.

There are Filipinos who will welcome Harvard, Oxford and other top universities setting up branches in the Philippines. But within national security circles, there are reported grumblings that the Chinese already control TikTok and Zoom (apart from Mischief Reef and Panatag Shoal); do we also want Chinese propaganda in our mass media and advertising materials, and shaping young minds in our schools?

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Retired luminaries of the Supreme Court, while not actively opposing Cha-cha, have told the Senate that legislation has already cured many of the provisions in the Charter that restrict foreign ownership of businesses even in several critical sectors.

Why, even those