All across the political spectrum, there is deep dissatisfaction with the country’s
dysfunctional democracy but no consensus on how it should be reformed.
This year saw intense debate on the country’s future direction. These issues
remained unresolved as 2006 ended, although they will likely consume much
political energy in the coming years.
Arroyo and her allies in Congress want to change the 1987 Constitution and
move toward a unicameral, district-based parliamentary system. They say a par-
liamentary government is less prone to the executive-legislative gridlocks that
have paralyzed law and policymaking. At the same time, such a shift would
preserve legislative seats for political bosses who hold power in their districts,
keeping away popular candidates who have no local machines but could win
national positions on the basis of sheer popularity.
In the aftermath of the failed revolt of February 2006, Arroyo channeled the
energies of the political class into the charter change (or “cha-cha”) debate. The
Constitution allows charter amendments by Congress, but there was stiff opposi-
tion from the Senate, which would be abolished in the proposal to convene a