The recent approval of House Bill 1450 which gives the House of Representatives the right to convene themselves into a constituent assembly even without the approval of the Senate smacks of political skullduggery and muddles the real reason behind House Speaker Jose De Venecia’s and other legislators’ intent of railroading the plan to change the charter.
It is political skullduggery because of the apparent conspiracy between De Venecia and majority members of the House to take advantage of a vague provision in Article XVII, Section 1 (1) of the 1987 Constitution which fails to clarify whether the three fourth votes needed to amend or revise the Constitution should come from the two houses of Congress voting as one body or as separate entities.
Because of the vagueness of this provision the majority ushered a semblance of “substance” to their arguments for the passing of HB 1450. Arguments that from the onset were proven correct not by its logic or by legality but by a sheer command of numbers that De Venecia and the majority played to a hilt.
Such blatant display of the “tyranny of the majority” supplants the very essence of democracy and the rule of law. Democracy should not only be based on the caprices of the majority but by a society dictated by laws and reason. What we have in Congress is no different from mob rule.
De Venecia and the majority, in spite of all their avowal that they are merely fulfilling their duty to the people, is a total disregard of the utmost reflection of the people’s sovereign will.
Herein lies the crux of the matter. What we have in our country is not a government that is guided by laws, but a government that is controlled by politicians who twist and change laws to further their own vested interests. What we have is a government that is cloaked by the mantle of legality but in reality operates with impunity.
The culture of impunity is seen not only in the actions of De Venecia and the legislators who voted in favor of H.B. 1450 in spite of its unconstitutionality; it is also laid bare in Malacanang’s decision to remand custody for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith to the U.S. government in spite of the decision of our court which found him guilty of the crime of rape. Impunity is the very reason why our government has failed to provide justice for victims of political killings, involuntary disappearances, and other human rights violations.
Under this context, the State has become the very obstacle to its obligations to human rights. The culture of impunity has permeated every aspect of the Arroyo government such that it has become a license for the wanton commission of violations and omission of State obligations.
As a response to this situation the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) enjoins all human rights defenders and peace loving-people of the land to consolidate our ranks, be more critical of the current condition and mobilize the broadest possible number of communities and people into a united movement that will address the different aspects of impunity and state repression. To this end PAHRA shall devote its efforts to realizing its rallying call amidst these troubled times - Resist State Repression; Defy a Coercive Environment and Break the Culture of Impunity!