Opposing the unknown

Recent Pulse Asia survey on Charter Change shows that Most Filipinos (57%) know little about the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Amidst the revival of talks concerning charter change, nearly six in ten Filipinos (57%) report having little knowledge about their constitution.  Practically the same majority figures (52% to 64%) are recorded across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes.  Meanwhile, 25% of Filipinos say that they know enough about the 1987 Constitution, 16% admit to having almost or completely no knowledge at all, and only 3% claim to know a lot.  The percentages of those who have a sufficient level of knowledge range from 12% in the Visayas to 39% in Class ABC while those with the least amount of knowledge vary from 5% in Class ABC to 23% in Class E.  For the most part, the February 2009 figures do not differ significantly from those obtained by Pulse Asia in 2003, 2005, and 2006.

But what is intriguing is that the same survey shows that, A big plurality of Filipinos (42%) is against charter change now while a sizeable majority (64%) does not think it is appropriate to amend the 1987 Constitution at this time.

Indeed it is intriguing. How come Filipinos say they have little knowledge about the Constitution, and yet express opposition against moves to change the Constitution?

One institution, I guess, is largely responsible for this---media. In The Rise of the Rest," Fareed Zakaria asked, "Why do we think we live in scary times?" when research shows that we are probably living "in the most peaceful time of our species' existence." "Part of the problem," Zakaria said, "is that as violence has been ebbing, information has been exploding. The last 20 years have produced an information revolution that brings us news and, most crucially, images from around the world all the time. The immediacy of the images and the intensity of the 24-hour news cycle combine to produce constant hype. Every weather disturbance is the "storm of the decade." Every bomb that explodes is BREAKING NEWS."

That Filipinos professed to have little knowledge on the Constitution and at the same time opposed Charter change (Cha-cha) can be explained in the same way. Admit it or not, Filipinos' prime source of information is the media---newspapers, radios, and TV. So it is not a stretch to say that as Filipinos are being pelted with news reports of the pros and cons of Cha-cha, they develop certain attitudes towards Cha-cha, without necessarily knowing the Constitution itself.

So powerful is the influence of the press that, as John Nery puts it, "... it also forms—public attitudes, the public’s appreciation of important issues, public resolve. In short, public opinion."