BRZEGI, Poland—Pope Francis challenged hundreds of thousands of young people who gathered in a sprawling Polish meadow to reject being a “couch potato” who retreats into video games and computer screens and instead engage in social activism and politics to create a more just world.

President Duterte was urged yesterday to reform the party-list system instead of abolishing it.

“As a principal author of the party-list law, party-list representation must be preserved consistent with the intent of the Constitution to have the marginalized sectors represented in the House of Representatives,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said.

What’s in a mode of amending the Constitution? The Makabayan bloc in the House of
Representatives immediately reacted with vehemence when the President announced that the
Constitution should instead be revised through a Constituent Assembly to save some P6 billion,
the estimated cost of creating a Constitutional Convention.

EXPECT POLITICIANS to invoke their favorite but deeply flawed “Vox populi vox Dei” line.

Sen. Nancy Binay once sneered: “It’s the people who will vote.” Is it really the people who will vote? Studies show otherwise.

A Conference on Federal-Parliamentary system has been successfully held for the fourth and fifth time in the city of Cebu and San Fernando, Pampanga.

With its consistent banner, “Pursuing Federalism: A Shift from Unitary - Presidential to Federal - Parliamentary Government”, the two recently held FedCons were able to converge various individuals in the locality in its goal to provide feasible recommendations to President Duterte’s administration in his Federal advocacy.

There will be no constitutional convention (ConCon), as leaders of Congress have decided to transform the legislative body into a constituent assembly (ConAss) for the purpose of amending the 1987 Constitution.

“It was agreed that Congress will simply form a constitutional assembly to revise the Constitution. There is nothing to worry about because consultations with the people will be ensured,” Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez disclosed before the Management Association of the Philippines yesterday in Makati City.

The Senate is preparing to take up the proposed grant of emergency powers to the President to address the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila and other major urban areas.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services, said a public hearing would be held as soon as possible to get the views of all stakeholders on the proposed grant of emergency powers.

IN 1791, when the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified allowing “a well-regulated militia for the security of a free state, and giving the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” nobody expected that three centuries later, America will face major problems like firearms-related death and injury among children and adolescents, increased youth gun-carrying, and weaning of the psychological effects of exposure to gun violence, among others.

I had to fly to Manila to play in the Aboitiz Media Golf on Tuesday, hence I had to do an advance column, which means, I cannot talk about the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte. Anyway, I'm sure that you can read that report in the front page of this newspaper or in the national newspapers.

Change has really come even for me. Usually, my Saturdays are sacred as it used to be my golfing day, which is considered “my day off.” Well, last Saturday, after my medical check up, instead of heading towards the golf course, I joined the forum entitled, “Pursuing Federalism: A Shift from Unitary-Presidential to Federal-Parliamentary Government held at the Elizabeth Hotel sponsored by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc. (PCCI), Centrist Democracy Political Institute, Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc. (CCCI) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.