Exasperating

There is fresh talk among our congressmen about Charter change. The subject revives the exasperation I have nursed for over three decades.

During the campaign to ratify the 1987 Constitution, I wrote a lengthy essay titled “Ratifying a Yellow Charter.” I remember it because this was probably the most exasperated essay I ever wrote.

In this essay, I went through all the items in the draft charter I felt were wrong and would eventually compromise the nation’s future. That listing missed out what eventually turns out to be the document’s biggest flaw: It made itself almost impermeable to constitutional renovation.

We are stuck with a constitutional framework that saps the vitality of our nation’s progress and yet there was never enough of a constituency to drive charter change. The extent to which this constitutional framework disables us seems far too complex for most people to readily understand.

I disagreed with the manner the draft charter constitutionalized our economic policies. That preempts policy-making and enshrines an economic nationalist orthodoxy that failed everywhere it was attempted.

Our worst fears about constitutionalizing economic policy was borne out over the past three decades. We received the lowest share of investment flows among the core ASEAN economies. We are back to our old role as the Sick Man of Asia with a protectionist economy that discouraged trade as a driver of growth.

I have always felt that a parliamentary system will serve our democratic consolidation better. It would encourage a healthy political party system and foster public consideration of contending policy positions. This will be more healthful for building a deliberative democracy for our people.

My friends in the Cory Aquino establishment mostly agreed the parliamentary option will serve the nation better. But during our discussions, one question constantly cropped up: What to do about Cory Aquino?

They felt it was too dangerous to displace her. That would open too many wild possibilities. In the end, the presidential form of government was adopted (by a single swing vote) by the Constitutional Commission handpicked by Cory. The choice was dictated by the most