Ang proposed charter change, kung sakaling ito ay matutuloy, alinman ay mangangahulugan ito ng mabilis na pag-unlad ng Pilipinas o ito ay mangangahulugan ng isang napakalaking trahedya para sa ating bansa. Kaya para lubos na maintindihan ng buong sambayanan ang tungkol sa charter change (na bunga ng planong ibahin ang ating uri at sistema ng gobyerno at gawing "Federalism"), at bago man lang ito maisalang sa plebesito, labis na napakahalaga na magkaroon muna ng isang malaking pormal na public debate at public forum tungkol dito, separate sa legal debate sa congress at sa senado.
A debate/forum format something like the following might be helpful.
Let there be a topical/categorized series of debates on the proposed Charter Change. And let there be three groups of participants in the debate/forum;
I.) The Debating Group -- Consisting of two sub-groups who can be government officials, elected officials, from the academe, private individuals, or from NGOs. Among others, they will debate on the pros and cons of the proposed Charter Change.
a.) Pro-Charter Change (Sub-group) -- The proponents, advocates, supporters of Charter Change. They are responsible for explaining the objectives and the benefits of their proposal.
b.) Anti-Charter Change (Sub-group) -- People who are against Charter Change. They are responsible for pointing out the dangers or negative aspects of the proposed charter change. And most importantly, they should be able to present an alternative proposal that would supposedly/similarly achieve the objectives of the proposed charter change.
II.) The Moderator Group -- Consisting of members of the media and the academe. They are responsible for moderating, focusing, and stirring the course of the debate.
III.) The Audience Group -- Consisting of competent representatives of key sectors of our society. They will be given chances to ask competent and relevant questions concerning the topic being debated.
Let the debate be aired on national TV/radio and on major TV/radio networks all over the country.
Rather than doing a ridiculous flimsy Mocha-Uson-style approach of initiating public awareness on the administration's proposal to shift to Federalism, it is far better and less costlier to do a formal public debate/forum.
At least in this way, the people will have the opportunity to listen to the arguments of BOTH sides of the debate and they will have a better opportunity to consider the pros and cons of the proposed governmental shift to federalism -- compared to a one-sided only administration-sponsored campaign/crusade on social media and other forums or platforms, such as what Mocha Uson has done.
Rather than doing a ridiculous flimsy Mocha-Uson-style approach of initiating public awareness on the administration's proposal to shift to Federalism, it is far better and less costlier to do a formal public debate/forum.
At least in this way, the people will have the opportunity to listen to the arguments of BOTH sides of the debate and they will have a better opportunity to consider the pros and cons of the proposed governmental shift to federalism -- compared to a one-sided only administration-sponsored campaign/crusade on social media and other forums or platforms, such as what Mocha Uson has done.
