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Aquino and her constitutionVintage ConstantinoPublished online: 26 Jun 2007.

To cite this article: Vintage Constantino (2000) Aquino and her constitution, Journalof Contemporary Asia, 30:3, 418-419, DOI: 10.1080/00472330080000361

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418 JCA 30:3/R. Constantino

Aquino and Her Constitution*

We have had two different experiences with how Marcos and Aquino have regarded the constitutions of their respective administrations.

Marcos, in his obsession with the appearance of legality, took great pains to hide his infringements of the fundamental law by legal legerdemain; Aquino does not even follow the letter, much less the spirit, of the Constitution which her hand-picked com- missioners wrote.

This makes us wonder which is worse: a regime that commits legally sanctioned repression under the mantle of constitutional authoritarianism, or an administration which blithely ignores constitutional provisions while at the same time making glowing pro- nouncements about the restoration of democracy and the rule of law?

There are many examples of Aquino's cavalier treatment of the fundamental law fo~ the ratification of which she campaigned so vigorously.

In the face of a Constitution that mandates the dismantling of "private armies and other armed groups" and the dissolution of "all paramilitary forces including the Civil- ian Home Defense Forces," the Aquino administration has practically institutionalized vigilante groups which have committed worse human rights violations than the CHDF under Marcos.

Under the Aquino administration, Article III, the Bill of Rights, seems to be mean- ingless to persecuted citizens with the mounting evidence collected by international and local human rights organizations of the denial of life, liberty and security of per- sons and property, of freedom from arbitrary arrest, of freedom from intimidation, and with the maltreatment and torture of suspects while under investigation or detention.

The latest fact-finding mission composed of Asian jurists and academicians from seven countries concluded that the human rights situation has "gone from bad to worse" since EDSA.

In the face of it all, the President without batting an eyelash calmly says: "All accu- sations of a deliberate disregard of human rights have-been shown to be lies." Perhaps the Lupao and Mendiola massacres and the vigilante hackings, beheadings and disem- bowelments were not deliberate; the victims just happened to be standing in the way of the bullets or bolos. Has she really bothered to find out what is really happening?

Section 13 of Article VII prohibits members of the Cabinet and their deputies or assistants from holding "any other office or employment during their tenure." In her effort to provide additional benefits to the individuals she had chosen to man cabinet and sub-cabinet posts, Mrs. Aquino gave them other positions. When a public outcry was raised about this return to a Marcos practice, she reduced their extra jobs to two.

* This column appeared in the Philippine Daily Globe newspaper, 16 February 1988.

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Columns 419

Still, there was no compliance with the constitutional provision. Now that the renegotiation of the US bases is fast approaching, the nuclear-free

provision of the Constitution stands in bold relief as a state policy which the executive branch of the government has not lifted a finger to implement. This was flagrantly demonstrated in the recent intrusion into Philippine waters by the nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed warship USS Enterprise.

Two recent controversies have highlighted President Aquino's constitutional care- lessness. The first was the appointment of Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos apparently before he was actually retired. This would seem to be the case because during the turn- over ceremonies which installed Gen. de Villa as Chief of Staff, General Ramos, the overnight civilian who was previously sworn in as Defense Secretary, was in full mili- tary uniform as the outgoing Chief of Staff.

Moreover, instead of nominating the two individuals subject to the consent of the Commission on Appointments in accordance with Section 16, Article VII of the Consti- tution, she gave them permanent appointments which led to loud protests among the members of the legislative branch. Fortunately for her, she was able to defuse the crisis in her conference with an accommodating Senate President Salonga.

The other controversy centered on the summary imposition of the "Value Added Tax which violates Article VI, Section 28 (I) which provides that "Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation." In response to pressure from the IMF and other credi- tor institutions, VAT was implemented through a "midnight decree" signed two days before Congress convened. It is an onerous, indirect tax reinforcing the regressive sys- tem which exacts more from the poor than from the rich.

What is worse is that VAT's summary implementation violates the people's consti- tutional right to information. This shows that the President is following a higher consti- tution - - the letter of intent of her government to the IME

For an administration which prides itself in constitutionalizing its legitimacy in the wake of the EDSA event, the gap between pronouncement and actual practice strains credibility.

In the light of what is happening, one is constrained to ask: Has the President read her Constitution?

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Thank You, Cory*

Probably smarting from criticism, Mrs. Aquino has requested media to write "glow- ingly" haman about the achievements of her administration, sounding for all the world like a reincarnation of Imelda Marcos.

Because of her appeal, some members of media are reviving the concept of what in

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