on the occasion of president duterte’s first 100 days, ANC covered an event where finance secretary sonny dominguez talked about tax reforms.  i was only half-listening until suddenly — someone from the press must have asked him about charter change and foreign ownership — suddenly he was admitting that because of the chacha talk, he was being asked by foreigners if they would be allowed to own land na, and he said his response was:

Why? Can you buy land in Singapore? In Indonesia? … Why should you be able to buy land here?  Land is a sensitive issue in the Philippines.

or something to that effect.  not sure now if he said indonesia, could have been malaysia or another ASEAN nation.  i’ve googled the event, for naught.  have also hung around ANC waiting for a replay, also for nought.

i couldn’t have imagined it lang.  my first reaction was jubilant: surely sec dominguez is speaking for the president, hurray!  and then i wondered what it means for the charter change agenda.  puwede bang magshift from presidential to federal without touching the economic provisions?  or or or is it possible that even the federalism thingy has been shelved, and we’re back to forging by hook or by crook a constitutionally acceptable-to-all autonomous state for the moro people of mindanao?

alas, nothing, as usual, from the presidential communications operations office (PCOO) and it took that disgraceful near-brawl in the lower house of congress a whole week later (read Hotheads delay Cha-cha hearing) to tell us that the supermajority is still hellbent on convening as a constitutional assembly (read Time running out, Cha-Cha should start in Nov — Arroyo), never mind that there is no public support for it.

it does not help, of course, that the PCOO has yet to launch any kind of information campaign on the proposed shift to federalism.  as it turns out, sec martin andanar is such an intellectual featherweight pala, and it’s pathetic that all he can manage to put out for public consumption is a twice-a-week inquirer column that luis teodoro rightly disses as “masterpieces of fluff and personal glorification.”  LOL

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Federalism, for what by Florin T. Hilbay
Federalism project puts the cart before the horse by Yen Makabenta
Regional net worth in a federal structure by Philip Camara
What’s with ConAss? by Rita Linda V. Jimeno
Curb vested interests, so Con-Ass can work by Jarius Bondoc
Political dynasties doom Cha-cha: Monsod
do not delete (economic provisions)
do not delete 2
do not delete 3