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EDITORIAL

A matter of decision

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O P I N I O N

email: joespiritu@eudoramail.com

Character change or Chacha?

The Catholic Education Association of the Philippines or CEAP said that they had been open to change of the constitution except that the congressional representatives without regards to the senators moved for a constitutional change via the Constitutional Assembly composed only of congressional representatives. They feared that whatever change they may effect, would only be beneficial to them. Their fears are rather valid. It is but natural for a certain group to enact laws, though they may be beneficial to the whole, loopholes may be created so they could be able to benefit of the arrangement. If the constitution would be crafted by political, social and economic scientists with the aid of various sectors affected by it and ratified by the whole, this would be a more responsive set of laws rather than forged by a privileged few such as the congressmen.

The CEAP further said that they prefer a change of character rather than a constitutional change. They have valid reasons but alas, they are opening a can of worms with that statement. Ever since the Philippines had been Christianized, schools predominantly Catholic had been established to attend to the spiritual as well as educational needs of their converts. Had character education had been given enough importance in those schools, it would stand to follow that those who had studied in those institutions would be morally upright, however, their graduates seem to follow they present system.

Dr. James Naismith, invented basketball in 1891, the original rules devised by Naismith had undergone a prodigious change. Running with the ball, tackling and holding were frequent. Unnecessary use of rough tactics made stringent rules necessary. With the entry of bigger, taller and faster players, rules have to be changed further. Now, the present rules are very different from the original and will further change to suit the times. Rules had been made to regulate the behavior of players in and out of court.

The fundamental laws of the land must change to follow the change of the times in order to be effective. The primitive man, because of their numbers and isolation follow only the laws of survival. However, when they opted to live together for their mutual benefit, individual rights often clash. Living together created friction. When family, tribal and clan groups lived with each other groups interests often clash and to avoid serious conflicts, rules and laws defining the extent and limits of those rights had been laid down. When groups of peoples became a country or a nation, the fundamental laws of the land or the constitution was enacted. However, times change. There are those, who would take advantage of certain weaknesses in the laws to the detriment of the whole, hence, the laws must be updated.

Change via the change in character is lasting. Once a set of values had been ingrained in a person, it will need a long time to replace those values. Like personality, character is a product of heredity, environment and training although heredity plays only a minor role. Sometimes training is not enough. Environment plays an important role. No matter how well indoctrinated is a person, if the environs pose temptation, that to succumb to them is commonplace, character has to compromise. To train a person to resist temptation would sometimes take a lifetime.

The CEAP proposal has merits. Yet, if we will wait for character to change for a change in a system, we would be left behind in the fast changing world. Like basketball, the rules will have to change with the times. Organizers cannot wait for players to change. There will always be people who will take advantage. However, if rules are stringent, anyone who violates such rule will have to face the consequences. System change through change of character may be more or less long lasting if not permanent but it may take long. A change in rules or Chacha through Constitutional Convention may be in order.
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VOLUME XXI No. 24
Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines
December 24, 2006 issue