Affirming the substantive Charter reform proposals: C4CC National Leaders Conference
• CONTROL and BENEFIT provisions in the current ownership provisions to make asset reforms in the local industries and basic sectors, such as agrarian and fisherfolk, more effective and sustainable;
• Provisions to strictly uphold the “land-to-the-tiller” principle, just compensation, and no retention limit of lands for the absentee landowners;
• Provisions for the IP sector to call for a “NATION OF NATIONS” perspective of Philippine society and inclusive approach to diverse entities, elimination of ambiguous terms such as “common good” and “private rights” in the Constitution, and clarification of autonomy based on ancestral domain;
• Provisions to DIRECT the government to ENSURE quality of life for workers, employment for all, and livelihood for the unemployed, the sick, and the permanently incapacitated;
• Provisions to recognize and respect gender equality, expand and redefine the concept of family, discourage gender discrimination, affirm an anti-globalization policy to protect women workers, and assert primacy of women’s rights and bodily autonomy;
• Provisions to carry out ASSYMETRIC FEDERALISM giving more autonomy powers to regions where asset reforms and good governance have been substantially achieved based on accepted indicators;
• Provisions to mandate and define PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION of members in proposed parliamentary set-up; and
• Provisions to direct the development of the political party system; appoint the Comelec on a PER-ELECTION BASIS; abolish all existing electoral tribunals and transfer all judicial proceedings regarding the electoral process within the judiciary; and remove the barangays from the general supervision of the president and as basic political unit of the national government, and stipulate its role as autonomous self-government of the community.
Need to consolidate
To increase the reach of C4CC advocacy in the regions, participants of the two-day Conference agreed to pursue the following:
• Building/strengthening provincial/city and regional chapters;
• Creating/training a pool of speakers/facilitators;
• Conducting fora and consultations;
• Intensifying information media campaigns to insulate the current reform process pushed by C4CC from vested political interests;
• Translating materials into local languages;
• Fund-raising; and
• Roadshows
Other reform issues raised in the Conference for further discussions in regional activities are the following:
• Drafting of a Citizens’ Constitution;
• Ensuring the preservation of the Constitutional provisions that are important to the basic sectors; and,
• Educating the public on Federalism in C4CC advocacy.
In summarizing the planned activities of the participants, C4CC co-convenor Karen Tañada stressed the need to clarify and consolidate positions and concrete actions towards demand for accountability and reform in government. The other challenge, she said, is how these efforts can be used to advance the Constitutional Reform advocacy.