The Peru Cabal & Gloria's Triple Assault Against the Charter

Is'nt odd that Batangas Congressman Hermigildo Mandanas who surreptitiously wrote and submitted to the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Cong. Victor Ortega Resolution No. 550 calling for the conversion of the House to a Constituent assembly is now among the 40 or so Congressmen traveling with the President somewhere in Latin America? Gloria just finished her APEC forum stint and reportedly went to a Latin American country for a side trip. No one actually knows where the president is right now simply because the Office of the Press Secretary keeps a tight lid on this.

Since there's no news about their activities in that faraway land of the Aztecs, many are actually saying that Gloria and her 40 Congressmen allies are now plotting on how to speed up the process of charter change. Since Cong. Matias Defensor and about 42 other Congressmen on the House Committee on Justice already killed the impeachment complaint, it is time for Gloria and her band of misfits to start tinkering with the Constitution and amend certain provisions to accommodate their self-serving proposals. Resolution No. 550 is particularly important to note because it calls for the mode or manner by which Congress would try to amend the Constitution.

As I wrote in a previous post, Gloria actually has three Trojan Horses, a triple assault on the Charter. The first one is the proposal of Speaker Nograles, which calls for the lifting of some nationalist economic provisions in the Constitution to favor foreign investments. Second, is the Villafuerte proposal which calls for charter change and the lifting of term limits (effectively giving Gloria up to 2011) and the Mandanas Resolution which, it appears, have been created and passed by a Committee which did not even heard nor conducted anything about it (Cong. Victor Ortega was shocked when he learned that there was a Resolution 550. This was after he publicly told Atty. Colmenares that the Mandanas proposal was just a "figment of the attorney's imagination". Napahiya si Ortega. Ortega was made to look like an idiot today)

Gloria's allies want these proposals (including that of Villafuerte's) to be discussed, debated and passed before January 2009. Why the rush? Because any moves to amend the charter will be rendered useless if done 120 days prior to the May 10, 2010 elections. If Congress dilly-dallies with charter change, proposals might encounter a technical snag since the House will adjourn soon. Proposals should be made immediately in the 14th Congress so that it would not be passed over to the 15th Congress, given that members of the 15th Congress, particularly re-electionists, will all be too busy doing things for their electoral survival instead of spending time attending charter change deliberations. This explains the rush of Gloria to pass these proposals and what I heard, Gloria's cabal are really determined to railroad the proceedings and push charter change prior to 2009. The timing is most crucial and critical for Gloria because this is the only chance left for her to marshall her allies and effect a term extension.

The only option for anti-charter change groups is to do out-of-the box rebel actions to push the envelope. If they rely on availing legal options to repulse Gloria, they might encounter defeat since Gloria's gang will just neutralize these actions.

As I am writing this, I received information that Gloria's men are meeting in a secluded place in Malacanang and plotting for their next move. With the impeachment complaint squashed, the palace political operator is reportedly plotting to oust ex-Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. The ouster of JDV will be made in a political caucus by Lakas members. Former palace legal counsel Sergio Apostol is allegedly the one tasked to cut JDV's head.

I think this plot will just be a counter-plot since it will just anticipate the expected bolt of the JDV-FVR faction in Lakas to coalesce with Manny Villar's Nacionalista Party and Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco's Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). Sources say there is already an understanding between FVR and Cojuangco while FVR's group reportedly is almost close to talks with Villar's. Meaning, Lakas is just trying to mitigate the effects of a formal split, since obviously, Malacanang, for the longest time, has been trying to marginalize both JDV and FVR.

A split within Lakas will definitely affect the strength and stability of the entire "rainbow coalition" at the House. It would impact particularly on KAMPI, since majority of its members are former Lakas stalwarts. If JDV and FVR succeeds in coalescing with Danding and Villar, the possibility of another party raid within Kampi-Lakas is huge given that JDV and FVR still commands respect among the old guards of Lakas. In practical terms, with Danding and Villar united, this sends a message to Congressmen that the gravy train has shifted from Gloria to again, the JDV-FVR tandem.

JDV's marginalization will all be done immediately after the AFP attack on Camp Bushra of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Reports say, the AFP brass is preparing for an outright assault on Bushra this December. JDV's ouster from Lakas will coincide with this military assault.

By the way, Joey de Venecia the Third, who I find to be a very serious Nationalist, sent me his statement stating his opinions on the killing of his impeachment complaint. This is what he has to say:

STATEMENT OF JOEY DE VENECIA III
DISMISSAL OF IMPEACHMENT CASE
DUE TO INSUFFICIENCY OF SUBSTANCE
November 26, 2008


This is a sad day not only for us the complainants and the minority lawmakers, but more so for the Filipino people. Our right to take President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to task has again been taken away from us.
As our minority lawmakers have said repeatedly, this process is a way to let government show the transparency that the Constitution mandates.
The impeachment process is the proper and legal forum to let the people know what is happening and to allow the government and its officials to explain themselves.
It appears that the government would rather that the people take its grievances to the street than offer them a decent and legal forum.
The House Justice Committee might have stopped the impeachment complaint but I assure everyone that the Committee cannot stop us from airing our grievances and allegations in any and all other forums available to us.
We will bring this case straight to the people. We will go to them and talk to them. We will put out into the open what the government would rather keep under the cloak of darkness.
I give my utmost appreciation to all those who supported us in any way. I thank the Filipino people for their sentiments and their prayers.
We will not keep quiet. The fight in the halls of Congress may be over but the real fight for truth and justice goes on.