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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Military warns officers, soldiers v. joining rally
MANILA -- Military officials on Tuesday said officers and troopers planning to join the prayer rally against Charter change on Sunday must be ready to face the consequences of their acts.
Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon, Armed Forces spokesman Jose Angel Honrado, and public information officer Bartolome Bacarro at the same time urged individuals and groups not to drag the military into any political exercise.
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The officials were reacting to the call of Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias for soldiers to defend the Constitution and join the prayer rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila's Rizal Park.
"We know our responsibilities, we know our duty. If you go beyond what is allowed (in the military), then you must be ready to face the consequences," Honrado said.
The police had said they would arrest any participant in the anti-Charter change rally led by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) who will issue "seditious or inflammatory statements" during the activity.
Scores of Army and Marine officers led by former Scout Ranger chief Danilo Lim are facing court martial for plotting to join an anti-government protest at the Edsa Shrine last February 24 and publicly withdraw support from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Military officials said the plot was part of a grand plan to overthrow the Arroyo government, claiming that Lim's group intended to install a group of civilians to run a transition government.
Honrado, in light of the bishop's call, reminded military personnel that they are supposed to be apolitical and that the only role they should be playing in relation to politics is to register as a voter and cast their vote.
He also asked that soldiers be left alone so they could concentrate on their mission to fight threat groups and conduct rescue and relief efforts in disaster-stricken areas.
Esperon said soldiers are busy with efforts to address peace and order threats.
"It is for this reason that I join all the soldiers on the ground or frontlines -- the corporals, the sergeants, the airmen, the seamen -- in asking those who are calling for us to go to the streets in protest of the issues relative to the Constitution not to drag the soldiers into participating in partisan politics," said Esperon.
Director Reynaldo Varilla, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), warned those who would attend this Sunday's prayer rally against Charter change "not to utter seditious or inflammatory statements" or they would be arrested
He said 4,300 policemen would be deployed to secure the rally site starting Saturday night.
On Tuesday, policemen blocked thousands of protesters from left-leaning organizations who were protesting the amendment of the Constitution along Commonwealth Avenue on their way to the House of Representatives building in the Batasan Pambansa complex.
Led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the protesters were blocked at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road at around 3 p.m. The rallyists came from the nearby St. Peter's Cathedral.
Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Chief Magtanggol Gatdula said the protesters were stopped since they did not have a permit. He added that the QCPD would ask a separate group of protesters camped outside the Batasan complex to disperse.
Gatdula placed the number of the blocked rallyists at 5,000 but the rally organizers said they were around 25,000.
Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, CBCP spokesman, said the rally on Sunday would "purely be a prayer gathering and nothing else."
He also said the prayer rally "only aims to ask for the enlightenment of lawmakers supporting Charter change."
Quitorio said what the police should do is to ensure that the prayer gathering will be secure and that no untoward incident will take place since some groups might take advantage of the situation.
At the Senate, Senator Edgardo Angara said Charter change is not possible anymore with the very limited time on hand.
Angara, who has been very vocal in his stand in favor of Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) as a mode to amend the Charter, said it is highly impossible for both Houses to push for a Constitutional Convention (Con-con) considering that the process is a lengthy one.
Senator Francis Pangilinan agreed with Angara, saying the Senate as an institution remains steadfast despite efforts to revise the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass).
At the House of Representatives, the opposition bloc said it could not just simply take at face value House Speaker Jose de Venecia's statement that the majority was finally shelving Con-Ass.
To test the sincerity of majority congressmen, party-list representatives filed a resolution urging them to withdraw House Resolution 197, formerly House 1450, that calls for the convening of a Con-Ass minus the Senate.
After a three-hour caucus with the majority group on Monday night, de Venecia said they reached a consensus to heed the call of the public to put a stop to Charter change moves via Con-Ass.
He said that the House majority was instead pushing for Con-con.
However, an ally of de Venecia, House committee on appropriations chairman Joey Salceda, predicted the death of Con-con.
He said that for as long as there is a Senate that would oppose any move to amend the Constitution, there is no chance for it to happen, either by Con-Ass or Con-con.
At the Palace, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal filed before the House of Representatives a proposal to have the delegates of the Con-con appointed instead of elected to save money and ensure that only qualified delegates would deliberate on the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
Macalintal, election lawyer of President Arroyo, said he made the proposal on his own without the order or go-signal from the Chief Executive.
He added the move would be less expensive, not divisive and ensure that only the qualified delegates are named to the convention. (VR/MSN/CPB/DBP/JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (December 13, 2006 issue)
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