August is a month of celebrations – the birth date of Manuel L. Quezon on the 19th, Ninoy Aquino Day on the 21st, National Heroes Day on August 25 which is also the commemoration of the start of the 1986 Philippine revolution, and the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. It is also Ghost Month in some Asian countries, a time of heightened spiritual activities. It is believed that the gates of the underworld open, allowing the spirits to roam. Marked by ancestor worship and rituals to avoid misfortune, people refrain from making major decisions during the period.

It just happened that the existence of “ghost flood projects” was revealed on Ghost Month. At this time of writing, the headlines and front pages of many of our national dailies feature the ongoing flood probe which revealed that some are actually “ghost projects.” Ghost projects refer to infrastructure reported as completed or in progress but either they do not exist or are significantly underdeveloped. They involve a misallocation of funds and some had led to ineffective flood management thus putting some communities at risk during the recent floods. It was recently shown that only seven of 15 firms facing Senate probe had been tagged. More than half of the contractors listed by the President for obtaining the most flood control projects had skipped the blue ribbon committee inquiry tasked to examine ghost projects.

While awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on the plea by the House of Representations to reverse its unanimous ruling on dismissing the impeachment of the vice-president, members of both the House and the Senate were busy trying to find ways of reviving Charter change.

Among several, there is Ako Bikol party list Alfredo Garbin Jr. who filed a proposal seeking amendments on national territory and economy through a Resolution of both houses (RB#1) They include Article 1 on National Territory, Article 12 on National Economy and Patrimony, Article 14 on Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports, and Article 16 on General Provisions. Here, Garbin pointed out that the provisions on National Territory must conform to the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea and that emerging social, political trends such as digitalization and climate change. House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno endorsed a revision through a constitutional convention. One example he noted, was the word “forthwith” used to describe the duty of the Senate upon receiving the articles of impeachment from the House. It is “ambiguous, he said, as it can be the justification for legislative inaction, procedural manipulation, or worse, loss of accountability itself.” Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto is now agreeable to charter change through a constituent assembly after the Senate archived the impeachment articles on VP Duterte.

And, finally, there is Francisco “Kit” Tatad, former Secretary of Information during former Marcos Sr. presidency, and now, columnist of Manila Times, expressed disagreement with the statement of Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro who said President Marcos Jr. is now open and will not oppose the holding of a constitutional convention to fix certain defects of the Constitution. I do agree with Kit Tatad who said that if there is anyone who would move heaven and earth to change the form or structure of government, it could be no other than the current president. ([email protected]).