Thursday, September 25, 2008 No more rally at Arnedo park? By Ian Ocampo Flora
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Asserting his jurisdiction over the controversial Gov. Macario Arnedo Park, Governor Eddie Panlilio asked this city's Mayor Oscar Rodriguez not to issue any permits to rally at the park.
In a letter, the governor told Rodriguez that the park is within the jurisdiction of the Capitol, thus the City Government has no power to issue permits to those who want to stage protest at Arnedo Park.
The City Government issued permits to the sacked members of the Biyaya A Luluguran at Sisikapan (Balas) who staged protest last September 17, and pro-Panlilio recall protestors on September 22.
"May I remind you that the Macario Arnedo Park is within the Capitol compound and owned by the Pampanga Provincial Government. The Capitol compound might be located within your city but administration and governance over it is lodged within the Provincial Government," Panlilio said in the letter.
Panlilio also called the attention of Rodriguez regarding the priest-turned-governor's refusal to recognize the Provincial Board's (PB) resolution declaring Arnedo Park as a freedom park.
The PB passed Resolution 1338 declaring Governor Macario Arnedo Park as a freedom park upon the prodding of the protesting Balas Boys last month.
But Panlilio said the PB resolution is invalid.
"Resolution 1338 is invalid, in view of its legal infirmities both substantially -- for being an ultra vires act on the part of the PB, and procedurally -- such a legislative action being required to be passed through an ordinance," he said.
He believed that the PB enacted such resolution to "buoy up the motives of the rallying Balas members and their sympathizers."
"I am asserting that permits should not be issued by your office to any applicant who wishes to make use of Macario Arnedo Park for whatever purpose they intend to utilize it," Panlilio said.
He also reacted to the behavior of the protestors last Monday. The governor insisted that peace and order should be maintained adding that such was not imposed on the protestors.
"The rallyists are very noisy and their streamers are libelous and defamatory. Their sound system should be toned down and their defamatory and libelous streamers should be put down by your office being the one who allowed them to do so," Panlilio added in his letter to Rodriguez.
Sought for his comment, Rodriguez said the City Government will no longer issue permits at Arnedo Park.
"Now that the governor is asserting jurisdiction over Arnedo Park, we will be refraining in issuing permits for its use," Rodriguez said, adding that they would only be issuing protest permits within the areas of the city, which are not under the Capitol's jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the dismissed Balas members said they are not threatened by the letter of Panlilio.
"We will hold the rally outside of Arnedo Park if he (Panlilio) does not want us to hold our rally here," said Filologo Rodriguez, Balas former head of operations.
Vice Governor Joseller Guiao also hit back at the Capitol for making "baseless claims" on the illegality of the recent PB's resolution declaring Arnedo Park as a freedom park.
Prior to the PB resolution, Guiao said it had been found out through research that Arnedo Park is a freedom park based on Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circulars 2006-42 and 2006-79 classifying parks as to their nature.
"The memorandums state that if such a park like Arnedo is not included in the list of classified parks, it automatically becomes a freedom park after 60 days from the issuance of the memo," he said.
