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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Lawyer exposes 'no election' plot in 2010
MANILA -- A lawyer uncovered Tuesday a provision inserted in a House resolution that seeks to postpone the 2010 presidential elections and extend the terms of office of all elective officials.
Neri Colmenares, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), exposed the insertion during Tuesday's hearing of a resolution proposing to change the Constitution by the House committee on constitutional amendments.
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La Union Representative Victor Ortega, chairman of the committee, initially denied that any of the bills and resolutions referred to his panel contained a proposal for term extension.
"The term extension is merely talk, rumors, or 'chismis'. The committee has not received any resolution... for any extension of term. I can assure you that not one member of this committee wants to extend our terms," Ortega claimed.
However, he changed tones when Colmenares produced a copy of House Resolution (HR) 550 filed by Batangas Representative Hermilando Mandanas.
"As far as the committee is concerned, we have yet to talk about it although it was referred to the committee," Ortega backtracked.
"The committee is not going to act on it (HR 550) until we are finished with all the public hearings. It's not really a priority... we will treat all the proposed measures equally," he said.
But Colmenares said HR 550 has already undergone "initial deliberations" on August 12, 2008 based on a report he secured from the committee secretariat.
"It is already in the agenda. That means they can already vote on it, even today or perhaps tomorrow. This proves that all previous assurances that there are no proposals for term extension being considered were misleading," the lawyer added.
HR 550 recommended an additional year to the terms of office of members of the House of Representatives and all local government executives although it retained the limitation of three consecutive terms.
Likewise, the Mandanas resolution suggested that the presidential elections scheduled for May 10, 2010 be reset instead to May 9, 2011 "to better synchronize local and national elections and to afford time for the necessary transitory preparations and the required adjustments."
This means that "all elected officials whose term will end at noon on June 30, 2010' - including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - will be serving on hold-over capacity until noon of June 30, 2011."
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes and other critics of Charter change present in the hearing warned that efforts to railroad the constitutional change in Congress, through any of the available procedures, will only heighten the people's distrust.
"An anomalous mode of Charter change will only serve anomalous interests," said Reyes.
Malacañang, meanwhile, said the President will campaign against any congressional move that would extend the term limits of top government officials by amending the 1987 Constitution.
"Because campaigning against the term extension is the concrete action the executive can do to an independent branch of government, which is the legislative. Our Congress is independent and we could not force them," deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said.
Golez also said President Arroyo is staying above the political fray over the proposed Charter change and the investigation by committees of both Houses of Congress of the alleged fertilizer scam.
He also said there was no question about the political stability in the country despite the increased political noise over the Charter change and fertilizer fund investigations.
Otherwise, the President would have cancelled her trip to Peru where she attended the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (Apec) Leaders Meeting, he added.
President Arroyo left the Peruvian capital at the end of the two-day Apec Summit Tuesday and flew to Colombia before returning to the Philippines via Los Angeles, California.
She is expected to arrive in Manila on Friday at 5 a.m. (WV/JMR/PNA/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (November 26, 2008 issue)
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