Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Bolder attack from cardinal on split Cebu plan
CEBU CITY -- Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal is set to issue a more informative and bolder pastoral letter against the plan to divide Cebu into separate provinces.
"It is to prepare our people if a plebiscite is to be made on the proposal," Cebu Archdiocesan media liaison officer Monsignor Achilles Dakay said in a phone interview Monday night.
Despite the insistence of Representative Simeon Kintanar (2nd district), Antonio Yapha Jr. (3rd district) and Clavel Martinez (4th district) that their move is beneficial to their constituents, Vidal has refused to support them and, instead, described their move as "evil."
Dakay also said the opposition of the parishioners to the proposal is "overwhelming" as shown in surveys in parishes that were done after masses.
The first public hearing on the bills was held last week in Manila.
Except for creating a technical working committee to study the bills to create Cebu del Norte, Occidental Cebu and Cebu del Sur, not much was discussed because the hearing was adjourned earlier than expected.
Representatives Antonio Cuenco, Raul del Mar, Eduardo Gullas and Ramon "Red" Durano VI are still working on bringing the House committee on local government hearing to Cebu.
House committee chairman Emilio Macias has already ruled against holding a public hearing here, as their task is only to make sure that the proponents meet the legal requirements of creating of new provinces.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for his part, is doubtful Congress can handle a parliamentary form of government when it won't even allow public hearings on the split-Cebu bills to be held here.
Legislators are also discussing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's proposal to change the presidential form of government through a constituent assembly.
In a news conference Monday, the mayor said he suspects House Speaker Jose de Venecia may be helping in preventing the hearings from being held in Cebu.
"They're not even upholding the principle of democracy, which is participation by the people. And this is the same Congress that wants to have a parliamentary government? Forget it," Osmeña said.
How Congress is dealing with the bills that seek to divide Cebu into four provinces shows the selfish agenda of Congress in pushing for Charter Change, he said.
"This is my way of proving that we should not give them so much power because they will chop us up without blinking an eye. They don't care. In Congress, it's a buddy-buddy system, they just take care of one another," said the mayor.
"Outside of supporting GMA (President Arroyo), I'm anti-Lakas because of their crazy agenda, because of de Venecia and (Senate President Franklin) Drilon," he added. (AIV/LCR of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(August 16, 2005 issue)
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