Getting Business and Economics Insights from the Likes of Silent No More is Impractical and Non-Scholarly
Let's take a look at Silent No More PH's example as to why I can't take them seriously
Con-Con is trash, it's not the solution
Constitutional convention is a representative body meeting to form and adopt a new constitution or to form, consider, and adopt amendments to an existing constitution. For instance, the Federal Convention of 1787, meeting in Philadelphia to form and adopt the Constitution of the U.S.Constitutional convention may be general, unlimited, or limited. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution. An unlimited constitutional convention is called to revise an existing constitution to the extent that it deems to be proper. A limited constitutional convention is restricted to revising only the areas of the current constitution named in the convention's call, the legal mandate establishing the convention.
The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines also has Article XVII which gives room for amending the Philippine constitution. So, the assumption of Logie Kinko that the constitution is "inviolate" is actually not even right. Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr.'s assumption that there's no need to revise it is contradictory to what was provided. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was never meant to be set in stone. New laws were passed every now and then. I wonder if die-hard Kakampinks (formerly known as Dilawan) were even aware that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo aka Leni were both open for amendments? Aquino III's economic record and investor confidence couldn't be possible with some amendments!
Here's what Section 2 of Article XVII says:
Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.
In short, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was never meant to be treated as a religious text! However, Silent No More PH still has its stand that the politicians, not the system, are the problem. It would be time to ask these "experts" some important questions. Are they trying to say constitutional convention is evil because of the regime of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. There's a lot of loot in Hawaii, no questions asked. However, what's often forgotten is that what the late Benigno Simeon A. Aquino Jr. highlighted in his Los Angeles speech was that Marcos Sr.'s constitutional convention was illegal, it was no real parliament (How can we have a parliamentary without a parliament?), and that it was pretty much like Jules Vernes' 80 Days Around the World. Even the late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore called Cesar Virata as no political leader in From Third World to First. It's a good thing I have a copy of the book if ever the page will keep quoting about Marcos Sr. but leave more important details behind!
Silent No More PH is raising the issue of inflation. I wonder how the people running the page intend to solve inflation anyway? If these people say something like, "Increase salaries! Lower the prices of goods! Give cash handouts for everyone!" then I'm terribly sorry (read why here). It's because simple accounting will dictate that higher salaries mean the company has to increase the selling price or service cost. Giving more handouts to people will just make them lazy. If asked for the funds, I guess they'll just say, "Just let Bongbong Marcos (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) pay his taxes! Let's recover the Marcos wealth!" then I'd say it's just a one-shot deal. What about a better source that continues to finance itself? If they say, "Let's print more money!" then it will just lead to more inflation. If they say, "Let's just rely on OFWS!" Sorry to say but economist Andrew James Masigan (who also supports Mrs. Robredo) mentions this thing about overly relying on OFWs:
As usual, the dollar inflows from OFW remittances and service exports (IT-BPO industry) save us from financial ruin. Between 2016 and 2020, OFW remittances pumped-in an average of $32 billion a year while our service exports contributed an average of $36.5 billion a year.
Have OFW remittances and service exports been enough to cover our deficits? No. There is a still a gap and it is funded by debt.
How then can we even discuss the issues that Silent No More PH is complaining about without a constitutional convention?!
I wonder how do they plan to solve issues without a constitutional convention? Have the government hastily giving handouts to people, and subsidies (which are also bad for economics, hence why the Marcos Sr. Years failed and weren't the golden years), or whatever they can think of? A lot of problems right now can be seen in defects in the constitution. If only people from Silent No More PH (who have an adoration for Mrs. Robredo) would just listen to their co-supporter of Mrs. Robredo, Masigan himself! Masigan might be a critic of former Philippine president, Rodrigo R. Duterte, but I've got respect for the guy!
One of the weaknesses of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is economic protectionism. It can be found in Article XII of the 1987 Constitution. We also have the Foreign Investment Act of 1991 which is still highly rooted in the late Carlos P. Garcia's Filipino First Policy. I ended up writing about why the Filipino First Policy has no room in the Asian Century. These sections of Article XII really is based on cowardice over a love for the country:
Section 10. The Congress shall, upon recommendation of the economic and planning agency, when the national interest dictates, reserve to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens, or such higher percentage as Congress may prescribe, certain areas of investments. The Congress shall enact measures that will encourage the formation and operation of enterprises whose capital is wholly owned by Filipinos.
In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified Filipinos.
The State shall regulate and exercise authority over foreign investments within its national jurisdiction and in accordance with its national goals and priorities.
Section 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens; nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the executive and managing officers of such corporation or association must be citizens of the Philippines.
Section 12. The State shall promote the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods, and adopt measures that help make them competitive.
Silent No More PH has quoted Lee Kuan Yew a few times. However, when they decided ot lambast RJ Nieto of Thinking Pinoy over a Lee Kuan Yew quotes, I could really think about what Lee Kuan Yew later said about the Philippine press itself:
He knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The Senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino's proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but did not check on corruption. Individual press reporters could be bought as could many judges. Something had gone seriously wrong. Millions of Filipino men and women had to leave their countries for jobs abroad beneath their level of education. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of thousands of them have left for Hawaii and for the American mainland. It is a problem the solution to which has not been made easier by the workings of the Philippine version of the American constitution.
Nieto took the wrong quote. So what? People do make mistakes. I wonder if the people behind Silent No More PH (as well as their supporters) ever bothered to read the book From Third World to First from cover to cover, or get everything that Lee Kuan Yew had to say about the Philippines? I wonder if they're even aware that Lee Hsien Loong, the current prime minister of Singapore, is also a member of a political dynasty? Political dynasties aren't bad if one member after the other is good. Political dynasties built on fame and popularity only happen when popularity-based politics is at play.
This reveals a bigger problem. It's a common-sense argument that a lousy system generates lousy leaders. Yet, you have idiots on Facebook who are still saying, "Let's just have character change, not charter change." or "Nothing is wrong with the system, it's just the leaders." I start pointing out nations like Malaysia and Singapore and they say, "It's just the quality of the leaders." I show a number of parliamentary countries and they say, "It'll never work! It's because Marcos tried a parliamentary government and it never worked!" What happened to listening to Aquino Jr.'s speech in Los Angeles where he revealed why it couldn't be a real parliamentary form of government?
If they think that investor confidence was increased under Aquino Jr. without amending the constitution, think again! Who in the right mind, anyway, would really for a 60-40 arrangement in shares ownership? That's why I wrote a post where I called 60-40 shares of ownership to be nothing more than overpriced rentals. I wonder if they can even account for their claim that FDI sank during Duterte's term but why are FDIs investing in a Communist country like Vietnam even more? Did they even bother to look it up or are they just over-glorifying their views at the expense of others?
A constitutional convention is really needed to address issues. After all, a constitutional convention was done after Marcos Sr. was overthrown. The constitution has many weaknesses, hence why there are so many weak politicians. The economy's downfall is because other areas are left untouched. It was good that Aquino Jr. did make some amendments. However, I would dare say that these weaknesses would persist unless rectified. That's why we need a constitutional convention.
If they read the book properly, they even realize that Lee Kuan Yew led several constitutional conventions. The aim of Lee Kuan Yew was to find solutions to fix a badly battered Singapore. If they just quote him about the Marcoses, they're just cherry-picking. That's why I bought the book to be able to get a fuller insight into Singapore.
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