CON. This word perfectly describes the actions of Team-GMA Congressmen who approved House Resolution 1109 at 11:20 P.M. last night. Let’s not get too mired in the legalese and the parliamentary maneuverings; essentially, the aim of Team-GMA congressmen in approving Resolution 1109 is to take the Senate out of the equation in changing the Philippine Constitution, which is absurd because even renaming a road would require the participation of the Senate. Team-GMA knows that they can never get the ¾ vote from the Senate to be able to change the Constitution, via a Constituent Assembly, because Team-GMA does not control the Senate like it does the Congress.

So why is it a mere con? Well because, as in any con or scam, the object is to deceive and divert attention in order to get the real prize: HOLDING ON TO POWER BEYOND 2010. Team-GMA understands that there is not enough time to amend the Constitution with elections happening in less than a year. So the object is NOT to alter the Constitution before 2010 but rather to LAY DOWN THE BASIS for amending the Constitution AFTER the 2010 elections. All Team-GMA needs now is for someone – maybe one of its minions or some well-intentioned individual who wants to stop the Congressional Cha-Cha train – to go to the Supreme Court and get a favorable ruling that says that Resolution 1109 is valid and that the Senate does not have to participate as long as ¾ths of the Congress vote to constitute itself into a constituent assembly.

See, Team-GMA has pretty much given up on winning the national seats, President, Vice-President, and Senators, but they still have a good chance in winning the local congressional seats. So they are willing to lose – what the layman might think are the more important positions such as President, Vice-President, etc. – as long as they have enough Congressmen to amend the Constitution.

So in July 2010, we will have a different President, perhaps an opposition President and new Senators. However, since Team-GMA still controls Congress, then all Team-GMA has to do is to have Congress constitute itself into a Constituent Assembly and propose changing our system of government from Presidential to Parliamentary. Now if the people approve this revision in a plebiscite, maybe a rigged one, then it is Team-GMA back at the helm. So while all of us are so focused on the 2010 elections, Team-GMA is looking beyond that.

Maybe you can dismiss all of this as conspiracy theory or an over-active imagination but nearly four decades ago Filipinos were caught off-guard when Martial Law was declared and the 1973 Constitution was approved in so-called “people’s assemblies,” which laid the groundwork for Marcos’ twenty-year rule. So I’d much rather be overcautious than be caught off guard. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of democracy, particularly when dealing with Team-GMA.