After 36 years, it's now time for Cha-cha - lawmaker

Thirty-six years since the 1987 Constitution was passed should be more than enough time for the country's highest elected officials to understand the urgent need to revise the Charter so that the Philippines will no longer lag behind its neighbors, according to a congressman.

- DELON PORCALLA

Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the committee on dangerous drugs of the House of Representatives, cited the country's membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where Manila is ranked eighth, or just two notches from the bottom.

"From being the ASEAN leader, we are now No. 8 out of 10 nations. Vietnam and Cambodia have overtaken us.

How much more in Asia and the world? We have to wake up from our deep slumber and constant denial for the need to change. It is time for a reality check. The time is now!" Barbers declared.