ver a hundred years ago, the Philippine Revolutionary Government headed by Emilio Aguinaldo inaugurated the first Philippine Congress in the now-historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. It was a unicameral body made up of the "cream of the crop" of Philippine inteligencia. The Malolos Congress—as it was later known—was a prolific law-making body; fourteen days after it was first convened, its first official act the “Act of Declaration of Independence” was ratified on September 29, 1898. Then it passed the the Malolos Constitution. Unfortunately, this Congress' term was cut short (a mere five months after it convened) by the intervention of the Philippine American war.

Since then Philippine legislatures were essentially bi-cameral bodies patterned after the American system with an Upper House and a Lower House, except for two brief periods: first, during the Commonwealth era, and again during part of the Martial Law years when unicameral assemblies were established.

The Senate or Upper House as provided by the current 1987 Constitution has 24 Senators elected "at large" by the nations voters. Unlike United States Senators who are chosen by voters in their respective States and are thus answerable to those constituents, Philippine Senators have no specific constituents and are thus answerable to no group in particular...other than the public at large.

Thus Philippine Senators can act with utter disregard and get away with it for the most part. The Senate's dismal performance this Congress is a direct result of this lack of accountability. The Senate has sat on so many urgent bills sent to it by the House, preferring instead to conduct endless investigations that serve only their political ends.

A perfect example of a catastrophe that could have been averted had the Senate been doing its job is the current pre-need fiasco involving Pacific Plan Inc. Planholders were told recently that the monies the were expecting from the plan they opened for say, their child's tuition would not be there. Now these parents are scrambling to come up with the tuition funds they thought they had for their sons and daughters. Almost 20 years ago, in 1987 the House of Representatives passed a bill that the Senate has refused to take up. That bill called for stricter regulation of pre-need companies. The bill has gone to the Senate five times since then and the Senate has done nothing.

House Bill 4343, filed last year, will again go to the Senate—for the sixth time! With the current Pacific Plan uproar it finally has some chance of getting noticed by the Senators.

The President is absolutely right in her quest for a unicameral legislature and a Parliamentary form of government. At the end of the day, a Senate that is essentially answerable to no one and does whatever it pleases is bad for the country and pulls everyone down with it. If a People's Initiative is the best way to attain this goal, we say more power to you Madam President. We're behind you every step of the way!

with Raul Lambino spokesperson for
Sigaw ng Bayan regarding Charter
Change and the People's Initiative

Tell Pres. Arroyo to remain steadfast
in her plan for a People's Initiative.

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