The topic on this week's Kampus Kapihan is about one of the issues in politics which is the formation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Consultative Commission or COnCom.
What is ConCom? On how i understand what ConCom is in the Kampus Kapihan is, it is an organization of expert people who will study the Philllippine Constitution and amend the necessary provisions which needs to be amended - which I think are many.
Example provision tha needs to be amended to give clarity, as given in the kapihan, is this: the duty of the government is to protect the people, but it was amended and removed the word government and was replaced by Armed Forces of the Philippines. So does that mean the government are no longer responsible to protect the people they are governing? That they have transfered the responsibiltiy to AFP because of the reason that they already are responsible to so many things?
Going back, the talk itself was started of by Gerardo Espina, Sr., the town mayor of Naval in Biliran, by saying that the 1986 constitution was presented to the peole and was strongly campaigned to them for approval. It is the people who is the utimate jugde to decide whether a proposed provision may become a law.
He also added that the Philippine Constitution that we have now is the longest constitution in the world, with atlest 30 sections and it was also a product of hate or reaction to the rule.
On the other hand, Emmanuel Yap Angeles, Chancellor of Angeles University Foundation and one of the members nominated as part of the ConCom, gave a background on what Consultative Commission is. He said that it was formulated unfer the Presidential Executive Order 453, saying that the ConCom is created to propose the amendment of the constitution in various sectors of the society. There are 42 menbers of the ConCOm, over the maximum of 50.
The executive order is very clear, according to Angeles, "we have to recommend to the office of the president and find necessary to give importance on issues like the shift on the form of government being Presidential to Parliamentary; Reforms policy for global competitiveness; and to review the economic policies that affects the people's welfare.
Angeles made it clear that their function as ConCom is to be in assistance for the president on several amendments of the constitution.
When asked why Espina and Angeles accepted the responsibity as part of the ConCOm, to be the cosultants and be of assistance to the president, their answer were almost the same.
Espina and Angeles accepted the position for the love for our country. They spend their money, time and effort on this beacuse they believe that it is for the people now and for the years to come. They are not being recievinig any allowance from what their are doing, but according to them, it's alright. it's not the money that's important but the big contribution that will benefit all Filipino people.
"It is an opportunity to express and contribute to change the life of the people that is why I accepted this position," said Espina.
"I accept the position without any monetary consideration. I think our country needs us," said Angeles.
This surely is the beauty of democracy.
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