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Friday, December 15, 2006
Arroyo retreats from Cha-cha; on with polls
MANILA -- Charter change has been the rallying call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies as a way to solve political divisiveness and legislative delays.
But on Thursday, the President backed off on the issue and said the people will decide on the constitutional amendments at the time they deem “ripe and needful,” and “in the manner they deem proper.”
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The President’s statement comes after her allies in the House of Representatives archived the resolution convening Congress into a constituent assembly to make way for constitutional reforms.
For some senators, the Arroyo and the House’s actions signal the start of the election season.
The Senate has stood its ground against any move to amend the Charter, saying this was not the time to deliberate on the issue.
Arroyo’s and the House’s statements on Charter change were issued ahead of a large prayer rally, led by the Catholic Church, on Sunday.
“Philippine democracy will always find the proper time and opportunity for Charter reform at a time when the people deem it ripe and needful, and in the manner they deem proper,” Arroyo said.
With Charter change frozen, Arroyo said the nation must now come together and focus on development.
“The nation must consolidate now and I call upon all our institutions and sectors to stand as one for the country’s future,” she said.
Arroyo commended her allies in the House, especially Speaker Jose de Venecia, “for heeding the voice of national consolidation and unity, without sacrificing their high vision of political renewal.”
Senator Edgardo Angara said, though, that the opposition cannot be complacent because things could change between now and the May 2007 elections.
Angara was referring to a survey, which showed that the opposition was leading the administration candidates in the senatorial race.
The House of Representatives decided Thursday to “kill” House Resolution 197 by archiving it, which its leaders said was “a way of showing the people that they indeed considered the opinion of the public.”
Speaker Jose de Venecia, though, did not offer any apology for pushing Charter change via the largely unpopular constituent assembly (Con-Ass).
He pointed out that they have pushed for Charter change via Con-Ass “simply because it was according to our conscience.”
During the morning session, which was presided over by de Venecia himself, House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles moved to archive House Resolution 197.
With only some 20 congressmen present at the floor, the motion was approved immediately since no one objected.
After the resolution was adopted, Nograles said in a text message to House reporters that the opposition should as well stop doing street protests now that the majority has conceded the defeat of Con-Ass.
The opposition, he added, had “lost its cause to do battle in the streets.”
In the same session, Akbayan party-list Representative Loretta Ann Rosales moved that the House return Section 105 of the House rules, which requires that any resolution pertaining to Charter amendments should undergo the process of legislation.
Last week, the majority approved to delete such section which eventually led to the immediate adoption of House Resolution 197 that called on Congress to convene into Con-Ass.
De Venecia said during a television interview that the reason he had been pushing Charter change for the last 15 years was because he wanted to put an end to bickering between congressmen and senators or senators and Malacañang.
A new Charter, he added, would also stop coups and destabilization attempts, and end the filing of an impeachment complaint against a sitting President almost every year.
Despite the death of the Con-Ass, de Venecia was still hopeful that moves to amend the Charter will continue, and that is through a constitutional convention (Con-con).
House Minority Leader Francis Escudero expressed doubt that Con-Ass “is dead” since the Speaker had only ordered the resolution to be archived. (DBP/JMR/AH/MSN/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (December 15, 2006 issue)
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