ERAP VOWS TO LEAD MASSES VS CHA-CHA /
HOUSE OPEN TO CON-CON
PHOTO
AT LEFT - Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada acknowledges Barangay Batasan
residents in Quezon City during a “Lakbay Pasasalamat” in this file photo.
Boy Santos]
MANILA, DECEMBER 4, 2008 (STAR) By Jose Rodel Clapano - Former President Joseph Estrada declared yesterday he would lead mass actions against moves to amend the Constitution to lift the term limits of President Arroyo and other elective officials.
Estrada said he would lead the urban poor in rallies to protest Charter change (Cha-cha) initiatives of the administration.
“I will lead the people in the streets to make our voice heard even if they (the administration) threaten to imprison me again. I have always maintained that my freedom is only secondary to the freedom of the Filipino people, including the freedom from abuse by this administration,” Estrada said.
Estrada made the announcement as critics and the opposition are gearing up for mass actions next week to protest Cha-cha initiatives by administration lawmakers.
Led by religious groups, various sectors that included militant groups, peasant leaders and the urban poor are scheduled to hold mass actions in Makati City on Dec. 12 to rally against the 167 congressmen supporting Cha-cha.
Caloocan bishop and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Public Affairs Committee (CBCP-PAC) chairman Deogracias Iniguez said next week’s rally would be more united.
But Iniguez said yesterday that the CBCP would not take the lead in the protest rallies against Cha-cha.
He said civil society groups would only be waiting in vain if they believe that the Church would take the lead in the protests.
“That’s impossible. They are waiting for the wrong thing. I don’t think the CBCP will say that ‘you should go the streets and bring down the present government’. I don’t think that the CBCP is in any position to say that because that is the decision of the populace, the decision of the Filipino people,” he said.
Estrada noted the growing opposition against Cha-cha, citing the declaration of Catholic charismatic leader Mike Velarde of the El Shaddai to join in the protest actions.
Velarde declared he would gather at least one million of the faithful in street protests to stop Cha-cha initiatives.
Estrada said Velarde’s statements reflect the growing adverse public opinion against moves to amend the Constitution.
The United Opposition (UNO) also expressed their support for Velarde.
“We urge him (Velarde) to make good his threat and we welcome him to join our rally on Dec. 12 at Makati,” UNO spokesman Adel Tamano said.
Malacañang, on the other hand, sought to dissuade Velarde from carrying out his threat to lead the protest rallies.
“Brother Mike should call on the people to rally behind the government and help the country,” presidential deputy spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.
“Charter change is a matter for Congress to tackle on its own,” she said.
Mrs. Arroyo and administration allies have in the past sought to amend the Constitution to turn the current presidential system into a parliamentary one to unclog the policy gridlock that often comes from the presidency and legislature having a different agenda. – With Evelyn Macairan, Ding Cervantes
House open to con-con By Jess Diaz Updated December 05, 2008 12:00 AM
(STAR) Speaker Prospero Nograles of the House of Representatives (center) raises a point as Minority Floor Leader Rep. Ronnie Zamora (left) and Majority Floor leader Rep. Arthur Defensor (right) look on during a forum on the national budget in this file photo. Boy Santos Speaker Prospero Nograles said yesterday he is willing to support the senators’ proposal for the convening of a constitutional convention (con-con) instead of a constituent assembly (con-ass) in preparation for moves to amend the Constitution.
“I would toe the con-con line if that’s the brick position of the Senate, if it’s the only way we can break the stalemate. What is vital is to achieve fundamental reforms,” he said in a statement.
“The mode through which reforms can be instituted is just a secondary concern. Any mode is okay with me as long as it will correct the Constitution’s highly restrictive economic provisions,” he said.
“What matters most is to hasten reforms so that this country can move on – and fast,” he added.
Nograles and other congressmen want a con-ass route to Charter amendments.
The Speaker is the author of House Resolution 737, which seeks to amend Article XII Sections 2 and 3 of the Constitution to allow foreign corporations and associations to own land in the country.
On the other hand, most senators are for convening a con-con, which requires a law to be passed by Congress on the election of con-con delegates and on the appropriation of funds for the convention.
The senators propose that delegates be elected together with other officials in 2010 to save on election-related costs.
Nograles also said it is unfair for administration critics to claim that President Arroyo’s allies in Congress are out to extend her term beyond June 30, 2010.
He said his resolution zeroes in on the Charter’s economic provisions and not on the terms of office of elective officials.
“What we need is fair and objective debates on Cha-cha. We all have the same stake as Filipinos,” he said.
HR 737 is just one of many Cha-cha proposals pending in the House.
A proposal to postpone the 2010 elections and extend the tenure of all elective officials, including the President, by one year has been withdrawn by its author, Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, even though it has already been referred to the committee on constitutional amendments. By tradition and practice, a bill or resolution sent to a committee cannot be unilaterally withdrawn by its author.
Mandanas withdrew his resolution 550 after a public uproar.
No dialogue
A day after offering a dialogue with the House leadership on the Cha-cha issue, Malacañang made a U-turn, saying what it meant was to leave the matter up to Congress.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said that what presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio meant was for the lawmakers to talk among themselves to resolve the issues surrounding Charter change.
On Wednesday, Claudio said that “without abandoning the administration’s advocacy in order to secure the country’s economic and political stability, we will seek a dialogue with leaders of the House to help forge a consensus on Charter change that is acceptable to the people.”
“There’s no advice coming from the President, as far as I know, that we would be conducting a dialogue with Congress on Cha-cha matters as of now,” Fajardo said.
NPC backs Cha-cha but…
The Nationalist People’s Coalition led by influential businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. is in favor of changes in the Charter, but only in its economic provisions and not to extend the terms of office of President Arroyo and other officials.
In a statement signed by its president Frisco San Juan and chairman Faustino Dy Jr., the NPC said it also wants the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote separately if a con-ass is convened.
But NPC member Sen. Francis Escudero said he does not support the party’s stand on Cha-cha.
“I am for Cha-cha only after 2010. I think this administration cannot be trusted even on the election of constitutional convention delegates, assuming that is the case. We can do this after President Arroyo’s term,” Escudero said.
Another NPC member, Sen. Loren Legarda, said any Cha-cha move, whether by con-con as proposed in a Senate bill filed by Sen. Manuel Roxas II of the Liberal Party or by the “much-maligned” con-ass, “will not prosper if it will benefit the incumbent administration.
“Filipinos have become too politically savvy to fall for a scheme like that,” she said.
The NPC said its support for Cha-cha is in response to the exigency of addressing the economic crisis.
“We believe that it is time to amend our fundamental law with regard to some of the provisions therein which relate to the national economy. Perforce, we shall support amendments upon these provisions of the Constitution,” the NPC said.
“The Filipino people have the basic right to choose the new leaders of the country in the coming 2010 elections. Any attempt to extend the tenure of our leaders, elected or otherwise, will only tarnish the party’s vision and shall undoubtedly put to question the motive for Charter change,” NPC said.
“This shall be more damaging to the national economy and shall negate the party’s virtuous cause in advocating change in the Constitution,” the NPC said.
It also stressed the importance of the House and the Senate voting separately. “Respect should be made to the intent of the law in having a bicameral system of legislation: the Lower House as the voice of the legislative districts countrywide vis-à-vis the Senate being the voice of all Filipinos regardless of locality,” the statement read.
“The needs of the legislative districts cannot outweigh the voice of the whole country,” it added.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, for her part, cautioned her colleagues against playing into the hands of the administration, stressing that Senate opposition to Cha-cha before 2010 should be firm and absolute.
“We should not discount the possibility that any Cha-cha measure approved by both chambers before 2010 would be vulnerable to manipulation by the administration to suit its own ends,” she warned.
“The best safeguard against abuse under this regime would be to entertain Cha-cha only after Arroyo steps down after the 2010 elections,” Cayetano added.
“Her continued silence indicates implicit approval for the sham con-ass initiative, and this is fueling public unrest from all sectors, including major religious groups which have chosen to break their silence,” she said.
Erap to join rally, Bro. Mike not sure
Former President Joseph Estrada said he will attend the inter-faith rally against Charter change on Dec. 12.
“I have always said that I will fight to the hilt any move to change the Constitution,” Estrada said.
“I will lead the people in the streets to make our voice heard even if they (the administration) threaten to imprison me again,” he said.
“I have always maintained that my freedom is only secondary to the freedom of the Filipino people, including the freedom from abuse by this administration,” he pointed out.
The “Labanan ang Cha-cha ni Gloria inter-faith rally” will be held on Ayala Ave. and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City.
But El Shaddai servant leader Bro. Mariano “Mike” Velarde may skip the Dec. 12 rally, a source said.
“I think Bro. Mike will not join the rally. It is not his habit to join rallies organized by other groups. If he feels strongly about an issue, he might hold a separate rally,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson said a multi-sectoral group he helped form is readying to mobilize against moves to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s term through Charter change.
Joson said Citizen Power will organize farmers, fisherfolk, tricycle drivers and other groups for anti-Cha-cha actions in their localities.
“Our political activities will be conducted simultaneously nationwide. This is not people power. It’s citizen power,” Joson told reporters during the weekly Usapang Daungan sa Danarra hotel in Quezon City.
Joson said he is confident the majority would have a hard time pushing its political agenda because it’s the Supreme Court which would decide on the voting of the con-ass.
Can’t guarantee numbers
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that while it is firmly against Cha-cha, it cannot guarantee the attendance of a significant number of prelates in the Dec. 12 interfaith rally.
In an interview with Radio Veritas, CBCP president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said he is not aware of the Dec. 12 rally in Makati City, but that he supports it because “it reflects our common sentiment.”
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, for his part, said that under present laws, it’s unlawful for the government to prevent or postpone an election.
“They should fulfill what is stated in the law that there should be an election in year 2010,” he said, stressing that imperfections in the Constitution cannot justify postponement of the elections.
“There is no such thing as perfect. The only perfect law is the 10 Commandments and Jesus even summarizes that ‘in love for God and love for our brothers.’ That is the only perfect law,” he said.
“Our Constitution has many flaws, there are many provisions that need to be changed but who would craft the new Constitution? Not our incumbent officials in Congress because they would be affected by the outcome,” Rosales added.
“There should be no haste and it should be a product of real, serious study and a part of it is a true intention for the common good,” Palo, Leyte Archbishop Jose Palma said.
“We pray that they would realize that the best solution is the change of heart, not the change of laws,” Capiz Archbishop Onesimo Gordoncillo said. — With Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano and Perseus Echeminada