OPENING REMARKS
A Forum on Constitutional Reform
20 June 2003 @ the Peninsula Hotel – Manila

If there’s one constant in this world, it is change. Ignoring or resisting change is as implausible as picking a fight with a charging bull or an onrushing train. You eventually lose the argument – badly.

Today, daily headlines and news scandals indicate the need for change. If we read between the slogans and the placards, our people are demanding change. They are CLAMORING for change…and they WANT it – now.

As the thinkers and movers of this society, it is incumbent upon us to listen to our people’s demand for change. Or else, we might have in our hands the threat of social unrest – something that will not stop at EDSA 1 or 2 or 3 or 4.

We have always blamed the extreme incidence of poverty on our economics. So we devise various plans, programs and policies…all aimed at poverty alleviation.

Foreign development assistance from all quarters also floods our nation every year. Our President continues to allocate billions of pesos on our peace and development programs. Still it is not enough. Our people still wallow in abject poverty.

I believe it is time we accepted the fact that it is not just our economics that is to blame. Our politics is also part of the problem.

The state of our politics, the character of our politics and even the nature of our politics bears on our economy.

Our politicians determine policies and directions. And these, in turn, impact greatly on our economy, and ultimately, on what kind of life our people will have.

A look at the histories of our more developed and more progressive neighbors show that the primary thing they addressed, in order to improve their economy, was their politics. they did not just look at the poverty in their country and said ah, our economics is the problem. They eschewed than and went straight to the root of poverty – their politics.

They established sweeping political reforms, strengthened their political parties, and made sure that their political will had the accompanying power to enforce reforms and effect the changes they sought – in a timely manner.

So why charter change? Like it or not, constitutional reform is an important element in changing the way we practice politics in this country. It will test the relevance of our current breed of politicians in this kind of environment.

The willingness or unwillingness of our politicians to amend our Constitution is, for one, a measure of their level of commitment in pursuing comprehensive political reforms in our country. Reforms that will involve our people in governance. Reforms that will strengthen our political parties. Reforms that will not only give substance to our aspirations but also add spine to our will to effect the necessary changes in achieving our dreams for a better life.

The nation is watching our politicians in this issue. But, I believe, in the minds of our people, they are no longer weighing what is popular or not popular. I think that now, more than ever, they are looking at how well our politicians are responding to their clamor for real solutions to real needs – not to rhetoric that address the controversies of the day.

Change is inevitable. How we respond to change will determine what kind of future our people and our country will have.

Thank you and good morning!