THEY SPEAK AND SO WE . . .standfast and vigilant

CBCP Head warns on self-serving lawmakers

December 7, 2006 The President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) branded as "fraudulently illegitimate" and "scandalously immoral" the step to railroad constitutional amendments.

"We believe that changing House rules for congressmen or the administration to convert themselves into a constituent assembly is fraudulently illegitimate and scandalously immoral. It is perceivably self-serving on their part," said Jaro Archbishop and CBCP President Angel Lagdameo.

Lagdameo questioned the manner by which the majority congressmen has scrap its own rules which provided that proposed amendments to the Constitution be treated like ordinary bills that need concurrence of the Senate. "The haste is questionable and suspicious," Lagdameo said.

Voting 161 to 25, majority lawmakers crossed out a sentence in the House rule that indicates separate voting of the lower and upper chambers of Congress on Charter amendments. A provision was ignored that reads: "The adoption of resolutions proposing amendments to or revision of the Constitution shall follow the procedure for the enactment of bills."

"Despite the result of twelve hours of turbulent discussion leading to shouting at one another in the House of Representatives, we continue to hold that the way to change the Charter is not by way of a Constituent Assembly but by way of a Constitutional Convention," he said in statement titled "Watch and pray for self-serving representatives."

"Desperate"

The CBCP official also described as "desperate" Malacanan’s endorsement for Charter change (Cha-cha) in order to hastily pursue the Con-ass process in her bid to bring about the shift to a unicameral-parliamentary system. The prelate remained cynical of the government's campaign for Cha-cha because according to him people who had come out for it were perceived to have vested interests. "Graft and corruption cannot be committed by the Constitution, but by the improper application of it. It is the people who are guilty of graft and corruption who need to change," he said. "We encourage our people in the parishes to be vigilant, to express their opposition to Con-ass and to offer prayers for our government," he added.

Still for Con-con

The CBCP head reiterated the Constitutional convention (Con-con) as their preferred mode of amending the Charter whose members are elected by the people. Charter change, he said, is far more serious a matter than changing the names of the streets and the creation of provinces which require both the Congress and the Senate to separately vote for approval. "We have many illustrations and credible non-politicians who can help frame a new Constitution," the archbishop said. "A Con-con might be very expensive, but it's worth spending for something that is good for the greatest number," he added.

The CBCP, in its several pastoral statements, declared that while they agree that certain facets of the Charter may need amendments, they do not support speedy effort to change it without widespread discussion and participation by adequately informed individuals or people outside the halls of Congress.

"We continue to believe that major shifts in the form of government requires widespread participation of civilian society, and relative serenity allowing national discussion and debate," he said.

Serious temptation

Lagdameo also denounced administration plans to scrap next year's elections to pursue Con-ass for fear that it could pose 'serious temptation" for incumbent officials to stay in power. "The saying goes 'when power corrupts, it corrupts absolutely'. No to Con-ass,'" he said. Lagdameo asked: "If the election would be postponed to accommodate the Cha-cha by Con-ass, what will stop Congress to postpone it for another time and again for another time?"

"We sense here a serious temptation to our elected officials to perpetuate themselves in power," he added. (Roy Lagarde)

Pahayag at Panawagan Laban sa Charter Change Church People’s Forum Against Charter Change (CPFACC)

Wala pang isang buwan matapos ibasura ng Korte Suprema ang pakanang “People’s Initiative” para sa pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas o Charter Change (Cha-Cha), mabilis na nagmaniobra ang mga konggresistang alyado ng administrasyong Arroyo upang isulong ang Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) bilang daan sa pagpapatupad ng plano nitong Cha-Cha.

Ang Con-Ass ay asembliya ng mga konggresista na muli ay nasuhulan upang suportahan ang mga pakana ng pangulong kapit-tuko sa estado poder. Ito ay asembliya ng mga pangunahing nagbasura sa dalawang impeachment case laban kay Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at tiyak na tuluyang magbabalewala sa tinig ng taumbayan. Walang puwang rito ang mamamayan na magpapasan sa masasamang epekto ng kanilang mga pakanang pagbabago.

Kami ay lubos na nagpapasalamat at sumasang-ayon sa paninindigan ng Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) at ng maraming organisasyon ng iba’t ibang sektor laban sa Cha-Cha.

Totoo na ang Konstitusyon ng 1987 ay hindi perpekto at hindi ganap na naglilingkod sa interes ng mayorya ng mga Pilipino. Subalit ang pakanang Cha-Cha ng administrasyong Arroyo ay lalong magpapalala sa kasalukuyang Konstitusyon at maglilingkod lamang sa makitid na interes nito. Kami ay naniniwala na ang mga panukalang pagbabago ay hindi katanggap-tanggap sapagkat:

1. Hindi na magkakaroon ng regular na eleksyon sa mga darating na taon at pahahabain pa ang panunungkulan ni Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). Makakapanatili si GMA sa poder lampas 2010 o higit pa sa kabila ng malawakang pandaraya sa eleksyon, pagnanakaw at pang-aabuso sa kapangyarihan.

2. Lalong mapagsasamantalahan ang kabuhayan at kalikasan ng ating bansa sa ilalim ng mga panukalang nagpapahintulot sa mga dayuhang kumpanya na lalo’t higit pa na makapagmay-ari at mandambong sa mga lupa at likas-yaman. Gayundin ay pinahihintulutan ang kontrol at pagmamay-ari ng mga dayuhan sa mas midya at mga gamit-publiko tulad ng tubig at kuryente.

3. Tatanggalin ang mga probisyon na mahigpit na nagbabawal sa pangulo na magdeklara ng martial law o isuspinde ang writ of habeas corpus. Umabot na sa halos 800 ang mga biktima ng pampulitikang pamamaslang na sa kalakhan ay mga lider at kasapi ng mga organisasyong bumabatikos sa kabulukan ng gobyerno. Ang Cha-Cha ay mangangahulugan ng higit pang pagdami ng mga kaso ng pamamaslang at panunupil.

4. Tatanggalin ang mga probisyon na nagbabawal sa pagpasok ng mga kagamitang nukleyar at mga dayuhang sundalo sa kabila ng ating masaklap ng mga karanasan ng kamatayan, sakit, dislokasyon, panggagahasa at prostitusyon ng mga kababaihan at bata.

Malinaw na ang Cha-Cha ay pagyurak sa mga saligang karapatan ng mamamayan, pambansang patrimonya at integridad ng teritoryo. Kung kaya, kami ay nananawagan sa mamamayan na ipagpatuloy ang paggigiit na panagutan ni Arroyo at mga kasabwat niya ang kanilang mga kasalanan na pilit ngayong pinagtatakpan sa pamamagitan ng Cha-Cha.

Tuluy-tuloy tayong manalangin, magnilay, mag-aral at magsama-sama sa mga kolektibong pagkilos upang ipagtanggol ang karapatan at kapakanan ng mamamayan habang tuluy-tuloy ang ating pagtataguyod ng tunay na kalayaan, kapayapaan at katarungan.

NATURAL DISASTER STRIKES AGAIN - PHIL

Last December 1, while surfing on the net as part of my daily routine gathering all sorts of information of events in the world and listening to local radio station in my country (Philippines) I read and heard about the devastating effect brought about by typhoon Reming (Durian, international codename) particularly towards the Southern part of the archipelago which is almost the mid region if you refer to the map. Originally, the typhoon was seen heeding towards the North until all of a sudden it changed its course southward. Strong winds with a speed of 255 kms/hr and heavy rains with an average of 466 millimeters of rainfall which is the strongest so far since 1960, that triggered the mudflows and boulders to wash away houses, livelihood sources and buried almost a thousand lives still unrecovered. As of this hour the death toll (recovered bodies) rose to 543 and 740 missing and thousands wounded. It affected 1.6 million individuals, 1,765 villages with only around 20,000 evacuated in the centers and still hundreds of thousands seeking refuge. Victims are in dire need of food, medicines, water and temporary shelter. Thousands had been traumatized and in agony over the loss of everything. The hardest hit area is Legaspi City where the famous Mayon volcano is located. This volcano contributed millions of income to the city because of its fabulous shape and a perfect cone that attracts many tourists to visit. Every month when passed this place for the past 2 years on my way to Manila, the capital I stopped along the highway just to see its beauty. Now, Mayon is sending millions of individuals to desperation and desolation. Is she to be blamed for this? Well, it is in this context that I am inviting for a discussion. For Camillian readers, where is it exactly? From Calbayog City where the St. Camillus Hospital is located, it is about 300 kms away and from the capital, it is about 400 kms.

Our country is experiencing over the years big natural disasters that caused millions of lives within a second. Aside from “boxing” that brought our country to a well-celebrated international publicity, we have also natural disasters. To name some; Guinsaugon Tragedy in Feb. 2006 with death toll 1,032, Quezon, N.Ecija landslide in Dec. 2004 with death toll nearly 1,800, Payatas Tragedy in July 2000 with death toll of more than 500 including the missing, Ormoc Tragedy in Nov. 1991 with death toll of more than 10,000 and many more. Now the question I would like to pose is: how “natural” is a natural disaster? Is there away to prevent loss of lives or just to say when nature takes it course we are helpless. Studies show that prior to the occurrence of these disasters, signs had been observed, noted and published.
I would like to quote what Randy David had said in his column in one of the local dailies (PDI): “With at least 400 people dead in Bicol and Southern Tagalog in the wake of supertyphoon “Reming,” we may expect, yet again, another round of national reflection aimed at gathering lessons and lecturing our people on natural disasters. This is a favorite sport of politicians. Unfortunately, such reflection yields little by way of self-understanding because we fail to recognize that the one thing that makes living in these islands particularly disaster-filled is mass poverty itself. Many like to believe we are being singled out for punishment by Nature. This belief has a certain plausibility in view of the unnecessary damage we have mindlessly inflicted on this beautiful archipelago. But, in truth, Nature is neither grateful nor vengeful. Its ways are not moral or immoral. There are no such things as natural disasters; there are only such things as natural phenomena with sometimes disastrous consequences. (12/3/2006, PDI). These incidents again leave us this question that needs your immediate response, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? It seeks actually two answers: the now and the future.