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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Security adviser's folks rally for Cha-cha
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
HUNDREDS of members of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP) from the different areas in Northern Mindanao led by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales staged a march rally Monday calling for "responsible politics."
Gonzales said he has been asking his loyal supporters to stop holding picket rallies and slamming the Senate for citing him in contempt and had him imprisoned when he refused to answer questions regarding the controversial Venable foreign lobby group contract that he signed.
The national security adviser assured that "change is going to happen in the country" and challenged the communist party "not to hide behind front organizations."
The PDSP members went around the city culminating at the city bandstand to symbolize call for political reforms and a societal revolution.
Their speakers include PDSP local leaders Mayor Red Jardin of Jasaan, former mayor Romy Caylo of Laguindingan, vice-mayoralty candidate Larry Ratilla of Magsaysay and PDSP city sectoral leaders representing labor, urban poor, women and the farmers.
In their statement, PDSP said their party is "gravely concerned about the intensifying efforts to destabilize our young democracy."
"Power grabbers in the Senate are wreaking havoc through investigations, which lead nowhere pushing our people into greater despair. The executive-legislative debacle has locked us into stagnation," their statement reads.
"It is time to lay down ideologically guided governance. The party shares its basic sector's sentiments that the country urgently needs fundamental societal reforms. The PDSP firmly believes that charter change shall pave the way to these reforms," it continued.
PDSP said their party is campaigning for Charter Change that includes a shift in the country's form of government to a parliamentary-federal system has always been part of the PDSP's programs since its establishment in 1973.
"It is time to move on," he said even as he admitted that his imprisonment has caused a toll on him.
Gonzales nevertheless assured that there would be "changes" in the political horizon and that he is going around the country to consult PDSP members "who are mostly from the poor and marginalized sector for their inputs."
He said he is making sure that when this changes come about the PDSP is ready to take them on and would even be playing a significant party in it.
"It is not right to go for change and not consult and include the poor sectors in it," he said.
Gonzales added that there is also no truth to PDSP calling for the dissolution of the Senate but that it is calling for changing for a parliamentary form of government that would mean dismantling the entire Congress not just the Senate to give way to a unicameral system.
The national security adviser is also urging the communists to come out and not hide behind other organizations and using them as fronts.
"What is wrong with being a communist? It is no longer illegal. They should show up and express themselves as an alternative and let the people decide especially during these critical times," he said.
"Why be ashamed of being called a communist? In many parts of the world where there are various ideologies present various alternatives this lead to a maturation of political institutions," added Gonzales.
(November 8, 2005 issue)
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