Land, Food, and Livelihood for all, Not CHA-CHA for the few

The false People’s Initiative pushed for by politicians to ease the process of charter change is an attack against our democracy — democracy that we, the Filipino people, fought for under the repressive Marcos dictatorship. Today, as we commemorate the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos Sr. from his seat in Malacañang, let us again thrash the scheme of Marcos Jr. to indulge his gluttony for power through CHA-CHA.

Many administrations have attempted to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution post-martial law. The Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo, and Duterte administrations have all sought to use CHA-CHA for constitutional reform. For different reasons, sure, but with the same tired promise — the promise that through these changes, the lives of the Filipino people will be uplifted.

Now, in the time of the dictator’s son, the camp takes the People’s Initiative route to delude the public that the clamor for charter change comes from among them. However, this so-called People’s Initiative has only one provision – that the lower and upper chambers of the Philippine Congress vote jointly.

Seemingly simple, this motion intends to alter the country’s bicameral system, which undermines democratic processes, and the system of checks and balances stamped in the 1987 Constitution. Voting jointly makes certain that the interests of those in the lower house, the House of Representatives, markedly larger in number, prevail. A house infested with the President’s and Vice President’s political allies.

They speak volumes about how we must transition to a unicameral legislature through constitutional reform to liberalize our alleged restrictive economic provisions. While silently, the Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6) awaits passage in Congress, a resolution that moves to allow 100% foreign ownership of public services and educational institutions. It awaits only the success of the false People’s Initiative.

The legitimacy of the People’s Initiative is questionable for garnering 12% of required signatures in just a span of a few weeks. The People’s Initiative that, according to our community partners, was served alongside relief operations, distribution of financial aid, and other government services, and had no proper explanations as to what the people were affixing their signatures on. The People’s Initiative is bogus and has no solid basis.

We must not be fooled. Just as we know the methods of the current President’s dictator father and their cronies, these tactics are set to deceive, cheat, and steal from the people.

The people know the genuine solution to poverty, hunger, and loss of livelihood. And it is not CHA-CHA. This CHA-CHA is but a ploy to stay and indulge in power. All while Filipinos fall deeper and deeper into poverty. All while acts of violence against vulnerable communities, such as Indigenous peoples, grow worse.

What should be changed is not our Constitution, but the kind of development pushed for by our government — large-scale projects that destroy our environment, ravage our natural resources, and knock down the livelihood of communities and the production of our food; projects that benefit only the greedy, gargantuan corporations, and other cronies.

What should be changed is the government’s perception of Indigenous people, environmental defenders, and human rights defenders, as nuisances, as anti-development, and as enemies of the state.

The real solution to our plight is upholding the kind of development that is grounded on the genuine needs of the people – offering support for those who lead the charge in food production and nurture our natural resources – and knowing that communities – the people, must be included and given the space to participate in enacting genuine development.

LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) is one with, stands with, and struggles with the thousands of women, Indigenous peoples, sectors, and communities that reject the recent attempts at charter change.

Let us hold on to our human rights, and the democracy we championed as we fought against the Marcos dictatorship. Let us continue to fight for them.

#NotoChaCha
#EDSA38