Chutzpah

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Noynoy!

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2009

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Tuloy ang Laban!

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Mourning for Cory, Morning for Country

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It is time not only for the sustained expression of public outrage. It is time to match the Palace's official chutzpah and arrogance of power with a popular will that insists on holding leaders to account for all their actions.

The word chutzpah's origin is Yiddish and means shameless audacity and impudence. This has got to aptly describe the House of Representatives latest juggernaut to trample on democratic process and amend the 1987 Constitution to accommodate brazen and selfish designs for self-perpetuation.

Voting viva voce (by vocal acclamation) – the better to drown out voices of dissent and decency – the "House of Gloria" has rammed constitutional change down the public’s throat. And now serves to disembowel the body politic altogether.

A member of Congress who voted for House Resolution 1109 has dismissed this latest Con-Ass coup as “no big deal since it wouldn’t prosper anyway.” Which leads to the commonsensical question: then why even bother to insist on it, riding roughshod over other pressing bills of national import? The answer: “because we can.” Or because we think we can get away with it.

Such justifications from our honorable representatives strain the people’s patience and credulity. It is either that they are all drunk with power and miss the point entirely, or they are simply playing coy to shroud a far more sinister plot of staying in power for as long as they are able to.

It does not take a political analyst to point out that Resolution 1109, convening Congress into a constituent assembly even without Senate concurrence, is not as much a legal issue as it is a patently political one. The bare-faced attempt to vote for "con-ass" pushes the margins of public accountability – or even steps out of these margins.

Going by an uncanny reverse "numerology" of HB 1109, this was a stunning 09-11 "political terror" attack on democracy. A second attack, in fact. In December 2006. this con-ass move was first wedged into the legislative mill, six months before the 2007 elections. Only 25 of us legislators stood our ground then against such an onslaught.   

By their action this time around, the larger chamber of the legislature not only defies constitutional restrictions, but also tests the limits of what is acceptable – or even simply sensible -- in a democratic system. For a majority of the House, acting increasingly like a rubber-stamp body, this entails a ludicrous redefinition of the constitutional provision on "joint voting of both chambers of Congress."

If the trapo mindset prevails, the alarming scenario plays out as such: the Lakas-Kampi merger assures a majority control of the House of Representatives, enough to meet the "three-fourths" requirement of Congress "voting jointly" for a Constituent Assembly with or without Senate concurrence. Changes in the constitution are introduced or pushed, primarily on shifting government power to a parliamentary set-up, paving the way for the entry of the Lakas-Kampi leader, in this case Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as Prime Minister.

Perhaps in the din of popular outrage and yet again modes of protest – on streets or online – this distinct possibility of a continued Arroyo control of government is not as yet clear to the millions who look to 2010 as a crossroads of a country’s deliverance. But the larger public knows viscerally that their representatives have been disingenuous or downright treacherous.

The immediate future looks increasingly uncertain, no thanks to the doublespeak of a leadership or a Palace that says one thing and does another. A president returns to her home province 15 times in several weeks, dispensing largesse and exhibiting for all intents and purposes features of a local campaign for a district seat in Congress. Media raises the question: is this all a piece, along with ConAss, of the design to make GMA prime minister?

The public knows the answer to this question is a clear yes. But official pronouncements issue denials or sardonic retorts: “If people say GMA is unpopular, then why are they afraid of her running for a seat in Congress?” People, dear Palace spinmeisters, are not afraid of GMA running per se; what they are fearful about is the real possibility of GMA and her ilk’s chutzpah to use the resources and machinery of government to bend reality to their will. The experience of 2004 – "Hello Garci" and all – raises harrowing reminders of a democracy adulterated.

It is time not only for the sustained expression of public outrage. It is time to match this official chutzpah and arrogance of power with a popular will that insists on holding leaders to account for all their actions.  And for all Filipinos – especially the younger generation – to be strong and innovative in resisting latent tyranny and reclaim a future and a democracy they deserve.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions advanced in this article is the author’s own, and may not necessarily represent the views and opinions of THE LOBBYiST, its editors, or its publishers.

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