"Look at your own Conscience, sense of Dignity on Cha-Cha"
BACOLOD CITY - Bacolod Catholic Bishop Vicente Navarra urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the government officials to look at their own conscience and sense of dignity insofar as Charter change is concerned.
As Christians and law abiding citizens, does your conscience allow you to defend such kind of procedure of changing the Constitution? he asked.
Cha Cha stifles human rights,the group said.
The 163 Congressmen who pushed for the Constituents assembly (Conass) have no reason that what they are doing is for the welfare of the people. It still boils down to vested interest, the Bishop said.
There were more than 4,000 parishioners, protesters affiliated with BAYAN MUNA, Negros Occidental Farmers' Association and Couple's for Christ joined the Anti-Cha Cha rally in time for the International Human Rights Day Wednesday.
Fr. Mao Buenafe, head of the Social Action Center said the Catholic Church is very consistent with its stand on Cha Cha. It is against Cha Cha. Two years ago, the Church also staged an Anti Cha Cha caravan and they got the sentiments of the people.
He added that the people do not trust the present administration to amend the Constitution. Why not wait after 2010?
Jimmy Regalario, Chairperson of the Kilusang Makabansang Economiya was among the resource speakers during the Anti Cha Cha rally.
He said there seems to be an unrelenting effort on the part of the administration led by GMA to really push for the conversion of Congress into a Constituent assembly. And if this thing pushes through and they succeeded in converting Congress into a Constituent assembly, the next step is the inevitable changing of the Constitution.
"Gloria administration is very interested in changing the Constitution, first on the Constitutionalist provision. And I think she is taking it as a dictate of the United States and other highly developed economy for the nationalist provision of the Constitution, to be removed. And to open the whole economy to the control of the foreigners is an act being done by the President to get the support of the United States so much so that she could maintain herself in power.
The second thing that she wants to do with the Charter is to extend her term of office. It could be done through the changing of the political structure from Presidential to Parliamentary where after her term, she can run as member of Congress or member of Parliament, representing her constituency in Pampanga. It is of public knowledge that the representatives of Congress under the strangle hold of the President, automatically, she can be elected as Prime Minister. So the extension of term will also be defined that after the ratification of a new Charter, there will be a transitory provision may last for one or two years where there will be an automatic extension of the one in power. So as President, she could be extended for two years and after that extension, another mandate will be given as a Prime Minister by those who will be retained in Congress. She has all the benefit to gain and the people will be the losers. Even in the economic policies that she has been bragging has pushed millions of people into poverty. We have spent P192 billion for agriculture and fishery modernization act and the main bulk of this money was released way back in 2001 and 2008. And its objective of that modernization is food sufficiency. But look what happened, the Philippines is the No. 1 importer of rice. So where did the money go? There was anomaly in the handling of funds citing the fertilizer fund scam. How can you entrust the changing of the Constitution to an administration which has been proven to be cheater, liar, a part of every anomaly that happened in the country.
Perpetuating herself in power means perpetuating poverty, violations of the human rights.
The people needs to unite and tell the President, "enough is enough and understand the issue."
The only way to stop this Cha Cha is to come out and be counted on this cause, he ended.