Teacher-lawmaker rips Cha-cha modifying term limits, re-election rules

Self-serving is how ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro described the push for charter change (cha-cha) in the 19th Congress; specifically, the proposed term limit reduction with one allowed re-election.

Resolution of Both Houses No. 1–which Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. filed on June 30–seeks to implement five-year terms with one allowed re-election for the President, Vice President, lawmakers of the Lower House, and local officials.

Read more here: https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/01/solon-files-resolution-seeking-5-year-terms-for-presidents-vps-lawmakers/

“Opening the gates of charter change is only an excuse to slice and dice the Constitution for the personal purposes of those pushing for it. This is simply a desperate attempt of the Marcos administration to hold on to power even with less than a week in office, silence critics, and remove those who have been exposing their shameless and disrespectful acts and reminding the people of the sins of their family which ultimately made the Filipino people suffer,” Castro said in a statement on Sunday, July 3.

“If the Marcos administration makes this measure a priority, it only proves that Marcos Jr. is president for himself, his family, and his cohorts and not for the people,” she said.

The teacher-lawmaker added that the proposed cha-cha should not be a priority of the newly inaugurated administration, given that it must address the Covid-19 pandemic, crisis in the country’s healthcare systems, crisis in the educational sector, rising prices of basic necessities, and unemployment.

“Ang kailangan ng mamamayan ay pagtataas ng kanilang sweldo, pagbaba ng presyo ng batayang mga bilihin, sapat na serbisyong publiko na abot kaya sa lahat, disente at ligtas na trabaho at ligtas na balik-paaralan sa mga kabataan (The people need an increase in wages, lowered cost of goods, accessible public services, decent and safe work, and for children to return to school safely),” she said.

“Hindi pinangarap kailanman ng mamamayan na pahabain ang termino ng kahit sinong pulitiko upang lalong magkamal ng kapangyarihan at pera ng bayan (The people do not dream of extending the terms of any politician only for them to seize power and the wealth of the country),” she added.

“We will continue to expose the self-serving interests behind the push of the administration of Marcos Jr. for cha-cha, especially amid the worsening economic crisis. It affects the poor, our teachers and other professionals, workers, and farmers, and the only people to benefit from these self-serving measures are the politicians and the ruling elite,” Castro concluded.

Last January 2022, Gonzales filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 prior to the adjournment sine die of the 18th Congress in an attempt to enact the proposed constitutional reform, though it did not come to fruition.