Monday, December 11, 2006 Guv warns of massive unrest
A TOP opposition leader in Southwestern Mindanao warned of widespread unrest if the Arroyo government and its allies would insist on revising the 1987 Constitution through the controversial convening of Congress into a constituent assembly.
South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes, who heads the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) in the region, said the railroading by the administration-dominated House of Representatives of the proposed Charter change has compromised the country's volatile unity and the rule of law.
"We are now threading in a dangerous situation since it appears that our laws can no longer ensure order and the protection of our rights," she said.
The majority bloc of the House of Representatives passed Resolution 1450 last week that called on Congress to convene into a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.
The resolution likewise postponed the holding of the May 2007 elections to November, extending the term of incumbent officials for another six months, to give way to the proposed shift from the present presidential form of government to a parliamentary system.
On Saturday, however, House Speaker Jose de Venecia virtually backtracked and announced that the House of Representatives is willing to agree to a Constitutional Convention apparently due to mounting opposition from various sectors in the country, including major Church leaders.
The Senate has slammed the attempt of the House of Representatives to convene the assembly next week.
Senate President Manuel Villar declared that they would immediately contest such move before the Supreme Court.
Several senators also rejected a 72-hour deadline given by de Venecia for the Senate to pass a similar resolution calling for a constitutional convention.
Fuentes, who also chairs the Mindanao Confederation of Governors and City Mayors, said she opposes the convening of Congress into a constituent assembly because it will not bring economic and political reforms "badly needed" by the country.
She said it appears that certain politicians have been using Charter change to serve their desire to remain in power for a longer period. (Allen V. Estabillo)
