SENATORS BITING: If you think senators will be steadfast in blocking moves to convene Congress as a Constituent Assembly (ConAss) and propose constitutional amendments to take effect in May 2004, look at this bait being dangled before them.

Half of the 24 senators who have three more years to serve by 2004 are being promised automatic seats in the new legislature via a transitory provision. This will enable them to sit in the new Batasang Pambansa or National Assembly without having to seek election.

This is an exception to the general rule that all incumbent officials from the President down to the last barangay kagawad will be denied term extensions or holdover status in the parliamentary setup sought to be adopted by the ConAss.

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FRENETIC FASTBREAK: Keep your eyes on Speaker Jose de Venecia who is dribbling the ConAss ball, and don’t you blink because the fastbreak will happen faster than you think.

So optimistic are the amendment advocates that they are already drafting the ConAss rules of procedure. When Congress convenes in July for its regular session, expect it to organize itself into a Constituent Assembly and get to work immediately.

Before the year ends, the Constitution would have been rewritten and we the people would be asked in a plebiscite a Yes or No question on the adoption of the revised charter.

All things considered, including the fact that there is no organized opposition to charter change, we can expect to hold the May 2004 election as scheduled — but under a Filipino adaptation of the British parliamentary system.

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CONSUELO DE BOBO: The ConAss advocates favor the British, rather than the French model. In the British setup, the Prime Minister (who is Head of Government) holds the real reins of power, with the Queen (the President in our case) mostly a ceremonial figure as Chief of State.

Speaker de Venecia, who is obsessed with becoming Prime Minister or Head of Government, has no objection to the British model. Knowing he cannot win a presidential election, he is allergic to the French model that vests on the President the substantial powers of government.

But surveys show that the masses do not want to let go their right to directly elect their President. No problem. The ConAss will give them that consuelo de bobo by continuing with the practice of having them elect their President.

This is a deft public relations gesture that will help make the new parliamentary setup acceptable to those used to the presidential system. Thus mollified, the people may not care much if the Prime Minister is elected by his peers in the assembly.

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DE VENECIA-DAVIDE: President Arroyo need not be bothered by her unilateral announcement that she would not run for president in 2004. That promise was made in the context of the present 1987 Constitution. When a new charter is adopted, all bets are off and the table is cleared.

However, if she wants to stick to the letter of that declaration, she can run in her home district in Pampanga as assemblyman. This will even qualify her for the powerful post of Prime Minister — if she can break the visegrip of De Venecia on his fellow legislators.

Between being Prime Minister and President in the new political order, we think Mrs. Arroyo who is on her way to becoming an elder statesman is more suited to being President, a post that will be less stressful and less controversial.

Adding to the simmering parliamentary brew is the quiet move to make Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr. run for the post of President in a Philippine-type parliamentary setup. He is considering it.

A De Venecia-Davide combination is a promising team. The respected jurist as President will be a national rallying figure while De Venecia the miracle worker attends to the arduous tasks of uniting the country and moving it up and forward.

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RECASTING FIGURES: The adoption of the parliamentary system may yet frustrate the conversion of Philippine elections into popularity contests.

Other popular figures such as broadcaster Noli de Castro and police officer Panfilo Lacson, both senators, will have to reinvent themselves. Despite his popularity, Castro is hardly the type who would inspire lofty thoughts as president.

Neither will De Castro fit the bill for a hands-on Prime Minister. And in the first place, the more astute senior members of Parliament will make mincemeat of him in a showdown while his adoring fans watch helplessly.

As for Lacson, his main selling point to the impatient sectors is his no-nonsense handling of people problem. That talent, however, is not important to a ceremonial President under a parliamentary system.

If Lacson decides to run for Prime Minister against the veterans in the Batasan, he will have to master the art of war unique to that arena.

We also find ourselves asking if such prominent figures as Eduardo Cojuangco and Raul Roco are good material for the largely ceremonial presidency, assuming they are interested in that downgraded position.

They are executive types who are more suited for the position of Prime Minister, in which case they will have to contend with De Venecia in the bruising fight for votes in the Batasan.

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SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS: Some defenders of the voided contracts of Piatco (Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc) to build and operate Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport paint scenarios of foreign investors now distrusting and avoiding the Philippines.

Their line is that with the Supreme Court decision nullifying the Piatco contracts, the “sanctity of contracts” in this country is dead. They imply that we no longer honor contracts.

That’s not true. Valid contracts remain sacrosanct. Only the contracts entered into in violation of the law are being struck down.

Why enforce a contract that is patently illegal? That would be compounding the crime. Just because a contract had been signed by consenting parties does not mean that we are stuck with it.

On the contrary, the Supreme Court decision on the Piatco deal will renew respect for contracts. As the illegal contracts are winnowed out, everybody is assured that the contracts that pass the judicial test are solid.

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PARTNERS IN CRIME: Piatco should not be made to bear alone the burden of recovering from the business disaster. By itself, Piatco would not have been able to plot and put together the illegal arrangements.

There was a meeting of two criminal minds in the $600-million project. There was collusion, conspiracy, plunder.

The high executive officials who approved the contracts on behalf of the government are just as guilty. They must be unmasked and punished. If this is not done right away, the positive fruits of the court decision will be all for naught.

If the Arroyo administration fails to do this, it will be suspected of attempting a coverup.

With Piatco accepting the government offer to talk and work out a compromise, the guilty officials must not be given a chance to run away with the loot.

Public interest will be served also if the government or some private investigators identify the lawyers and the law firm that wrote and put together the tainted contracts.