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Friday, April 28, 2006
Lawmaker repeats call for snap polls
AN OPPOSITION congressman on Thursday warned President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of a seething civil war unless she calls for snap elections.
Agusan del Sur Representative Rodolfo Plaza said there are many disgruntled military personnel and civilians who are ready to grab power at this time when the government is most vulnerable.
"The only solution is snap elections to avert violence and civil war," he said.
Plaza explained that the current economic situation in the country "is a mess that has fended off foreign investors." He said there are economic and political paralyses in the present administration that threaten national survival.
"There is today a very clear, very real, very direct clash of principles and provisions in the Constitution. There is a conflict in the way these provisions are interpreted and as long as this clash exists, we can never move on as a nation. What is at stake here is the survival of the state," he said.
Plaza said the snap elections would give the President a fresh mandate and a clear hope for national survival. "Without the snap elections and fresh mandate, there is no hope for all of us, no way to put our trust in governance, and no chance at all of moving on," he said.
When there is no trust and confidence in the government, there would be no foreign investments, he added.
He said the President is in a position to call for snap elections just as former President Ferdinand Marcos did in 1986, noting that there is no provision in the Constitution that directly says that calling for snap elections is in violation of the Constitution.
Plaza said Charter change, which is being pursued by Arroyo and her allies, would only exacerbate the current situation. He said the snap elections should be preceded by an overhaul of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in order to have a clean and honest election.
"A fresh mandate for the President could only be achieved through a clean and honest snap election," he said.
The lawmaker noted that the snap elections should also include the position of the Vice President because it is also being questioned. Should the President win in the snap elections, he said, the opposition would certainly support her. (DBP/Sunnex)
(April 28, 2006 issue)
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