Cha-cha for the ruling few

[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]

[av_heading heading=’Cha-cha for the ruling few’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
[/av_heading]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
February 18, 2018
[/av_textblock]

[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
THE WICKED scheme of President Rodrigo Duterte to amend the 1987 charter under the pretext of shifting from unitary to a federal form of government exposes its fascist character as it deliberately and desperately inserts self-serving provisions to pave way for his dictatorial ambitions.

Amending the decades-old constitution is nothing but a move to consolidate the political power of Duterte which will only serve the interest of his local cohorts and imperialist United States.

A closer look at the proposed Charter Change of both the RBH 08 and the President’s party group Partido Demokratiko Pilipino at Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), provides for extended terms of office for incumbent officials, exempts top government officials from paying income tax, and centralizes the powers to the President. This is what his supermajority cohorts in the Congress, through a sham constituent assembly, are poised to push as the session for the year 2018 resumes.

Duterte is hell-bent on removing all restraints on foreign investments and nationality requirements which restricts foreign corporations to exploit our human and natural resources.

Without any remorse and in violation of the national sovereignty of the Filipino people, the proposed Charter Change is set to further sell out our national patrimony to transnational corporations and other foreign investors. It casts ironies that while many of the Filipino farmers are landless and are squatters in their own country, the proposed charter opens up to foreign investors’ ownership of lands.

The puppet regime’s subservience to the US imperialist is beyond definition. It was not satisfied to allow them to penetrate the curriculum of our educational system such as the K to 12 program. Cha-Cha proponents now push for a full control and ownership of foreigners of our universities and educational institutions. Our educational system is already ailing from neoliberal policies that made tuition and other school fees all-time high in the previous school years and deprived the Filipino youth access to this fundamental right, to allow foreign investors to own and manage educational institutions will only worsen our educational system.

Cha-Cha is not for the Filipino people but for the ruling few, especially foreign investors who keeps the Philippines subservient to imperialist countries. The Filipino people must resist the amendment of the 1987 charter. – JOSE MARI CALLUENG,national president, College Editors Guild of the Philippines < joncallueng.cegp@gmail.com>
[/av_textblock]

[/av_one_full]