Self-preservation forces Senate to dance the Cha-cha

Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has changed his tune and has finally agreed to revise the 1987 Constitution. Talk about self-preservation.

Self-preservation or survival is one of the basic human instincts and this is perhaps what has driven the Senate President to finally dance the Cha-cha or Charter change and amend our nearly four-decades-old Charter.

Why did Zubiri, initially against such moves, change his stance? He himself said he was concerned about the ongoing People’s Initiative, which has been gaining ground. This is a mode of amending the Charter through a signature campaign which, if successful, could render the Senate useless.

This signature campaign to change the 1987 Constitution would have Congress vote jointly when convened as a constituent assembly.

When this happens, said Noel Oñate, national lead convenor of People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA), the Senate will practically be a lame duck institution as the Senate vote would be diluted.

Against this backdrop, an anxious Zubiri said in a Jan. 15 press conference:

“While we respect and recognize the people as our sovereign, with the right to call for constitutional change, we must guard against any attempt to revise the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative.”

Zubiri said he and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda met President Marcos and the leadership of the House on Jan. 11 in Malacañang, before the vin d’honneur, to raise their concerns against the People’s Initiative.

After the meeting, Zubiri said they arrived at a “win-win solution,” which is that the Senate will lead the move to amend the economic provisions of the Charter.

Indeed, four days later, a joint congressional resolution was filed in the Senate by Zubiri, together with Senators Legarda and Sonny Angara, to call for the revision of provisions in the Charter.

Some of the proposed changes are on national economy and patrimony; education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports; and the general provisions.

The overall goal is to to allow greater foreign ownership in public utilities and education services.

As the Senate