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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Palace still hopes for constitutional amendments
MANILA -- A day after the smaller than expected anti-Charter change rally led by the Catholic Church on Sunday, Malacañang officials now say they are still advocating political reforms through the amendment of the Constitution.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not backing out of efforts to push for constitutional amendments and that Charter change proponents are not "sleeping" on the issue.
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"We cannot say we are backing off from major political reforms via Charter change. In the end, it is the will of the people which should be followed," Ermita in a radio interview.
Ermita, in a separate interview with Radio Mindanao Network, said it is up to administration allies and the people when and how the amendment would be undertaken.
He said there three ways to amend the Charter -- through Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), Constitutional Convention (Con-con) and people's initiative -- but the executive branch would not interfere with Congress or even the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap), which earlier endorsed the people's initiative.
Ermita also reiterated that they respect the stand of those opposing Charter change, including the church that organized a prayer rally against it. Attendance to the rally was far below the "target" of 100,000 to 500,000. Police placed their crowd estimate at about 15,000.
He also acknowledged the call of the bishops for character change and said it is as important as Charter change.
Ermita thanked organizers and rallyists for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the prayer rally, while Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye commended the police and the military for maintaining peace and order during Sunday's activity.
Bunye, who is also Presidential spokesman, said Arroyo also joins the church in pushing for a complete moral transformation, adding that good values are the foundation of a stable democratic society.
He believes that the call for character change is not directed at Arroyo or the administration alone but at everyone, including politicians and even members of the media
Bunye, however, said the church should lead Filipinos in their call for character change. He said the church is a very important and relevant stakeholder in Philippine society and a lot of people look to their religious leaders "to spearhead the moral rearmament of Filipinos."
At the Senate, Senator Franklin Drilon was a victim of a hoax in last Sunday's anti-Charter change rally when bogus stubs stating that he was going to distribute five kilos of rice and grocery items as well P250 in cash were distributed to those who attended the rally.
Former Camiguin governor Antonio Gallardo, Drilon's chief of staff, learned about the scam when 100 persons went to the Senate building after the rally only to be told that they were victims of a hoax apparently initiated by Drilon's political opponents.
Gallardo said "people who tried but failed to hoist the self-serving Con-Ass on Filipinos were at it again apparently employing a cheap dirty trick to embarrass Drilon" before those who attended the rally at the Rizal Park last Sunday organized by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
He said the hoax "could be the handiwork of the Malacañang dirty tricks department."
Another senator, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., said there is nothing wrong with a fewer than expected attendance during the rally, and Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said this could be because the public already saw concrete results in their opposition to House efforts to convene a Con-Ass.
The CBCP also considered the rally a success "in the sense that the it was peaceful and prayerful," said Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the CBCP.
The CBCP had expected 500,000 people to attend the prayer rally but police estimated Sunday's crowd at between 20,000 and 40,000.
He said they expected a low turnout due to the change in the rally schedule from December 15 to 17 and the reported terrorist threat.
Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz claimed that participants coming from the provinces in Luzon were blocked and prevented from entering Manila. "The government won in preventing the participants from attending the prayer rally," Cruz said.
Anti-Charter change protesters converged again on Monday at the historic Ninoy Aquino Monument in Makati City.
Chanting anti-Arroyo and anti-Charter change songs, the protesters said the rally was their answer to the call of CBCP president Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to be vigilant and wary against the convening of a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to amend the 1987 Constitution in Sunday's prayer vigil.
They added that they have already watched and prayed and needed to act now to show to the administration and its allies at the Lower House the sentiment of the people.
House Deputy Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who has an ongoing legal battle against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and other members of the First Family, called on the people and big business groups to join hands in calling on the administration to mend its ways and put an end to efforts to tinker with the Constitution.
Makati City mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay likewise called on the people to remain vigilant adding that elements within the administration could still initiate acts that would justify the declaration of another state of emergency and the cancellation of the May 2007 mid-term elections.
Makati Police Chief Gilbert Cruz placed the crowd at 5,000 but rally organizers said the number was double the police's estimate. (JMR/CPB/MSN/AH/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (December 19, 2006 issue)
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